Goldfinch Ale
I had the privilege recently (if several months ago still counts as recently..haha!) to design a tap handle label for a beer for local brewery, Hellbent. The beer is called 'Goldfinch Ale' and it is delicious! The Goldfinch is Washington's state bird.
It is pretty exciting! Of course it is an honor to have my artwork anywhere, but I also really like Hellbent and all their beer.
The goldfinch is the Washington State bird. I saw one once at Golden Gardens state park. It was beautiful! It was bright yellow and perched in some dried out shrubbery. I'd never seen one before and the yellow color of it's feathers was almost unreal especially for the nature of the Pacific Northwest. Bright colors belong in the natural world of the tropics, but here in the PNW, were used to more muted nature colors.
Although I admire the little yellow Goldfinch, I'm not sure it is the most accurate representation of the ornithological world of Washington. I think I would pick the noble crow as the state bird. Crows are everywhere in Washington. People in Washington love our crows! Or at least I do. They are smart, resourceful and bold!
I also think that a starling would be a good fit for Washington. Today, I was walking to work when I came across the most darling site. A bunch of mighty little starlings bathing in a half frozen puddle. They were splashing around and chirping little songs. I wanted to stop and watch them revel in all their birdie merriment, but this guy walking in front of me scared them off with his fast paced brash walk. I wanted to holler to him "Stop Sir! I want to observe those starlings playing in the puddle longer! Could you please slow your pace and walk around them instead of straight at them?" But I decided against it. The bathing starlings flew away, up toward the telephone wires. When I looked up, there were hundreds more starlings, sparkling in the winter sun and chirping to each other. There were more starlings across the street clinging to the branches of a bare tree. There were even more on top of a billboard. It was starling world and I was just a tourist.
Here is my design:
And here it is as a tap handle:
It is pretty exciting! Of course it is an honor to have my artwork anywhere, but I also really like Hellbent and all their beer.
The goldfinch is the Washington State bird. I saw one once at Golden Gardens state park. It was beautiful! It was bright yellow and perched in some dried out shrubbery. I'd never seen one before and the yellow color of it's feathers was almost unreal especially for the nature of the Pacific Northwest. Bright colors belong in the natural world of the tropics, but here in the PNW, were used to more muted nature colors.
Although I admire the little yellow Goldfinch, I'm not sure it is the most accurate representation of the ornithological world of Washington. I think I would pick the noble crow as the state bird. Crows are everywhere in Washington. People in Washington love our crows! Or at least I do. They are smart, resourceful and bold!
I also think that a starling would be a good fit for Washington. Today, I was walking to work when I came across the most darling site. A bunch of mighty little starlings bathing in a half frozen puddle. They were splashing around and chirping little songs. I wanted to stop and watch them revel in all their birdie merriment, but this guy walking in front of me scared them off with his fast paced brash walk. I wanted to holler to him "Stop Sir! I want to observe those starlings playing in the puddle longer! Could you please slow your pace and walk around them instead of straight at them?" But I decided against it. The bathing starlings flew away, up toward the telephone wires. When I looked up, there were hundreds more starlings, sparkling in the winter sun and chirping to each other. There were more starlings across the street clinging to the branches of a bare tree. There were even more on top of a billboard. It was starling world and I was just a tourist.