ALUM ANDREW HOULE’S WORK INCLUDED IN MEL MAGAZINE

Montserrat alum Andrew Houle (’00) was recently featured in an article at Mel Magazine.

The article, entitled The Fine Art of Craft Beer Can Design by Brian VanHooker, profiled six artists working on the design side of the craft beer industry. Each has brought their own particular flair to a one of the most vibrant and striking segments of the craft beer industry: the labels.

Craft breweries often work to set their cans apart from their competitors by employing artists to turn the cam into a canvas. Among the six such artists profiled in article is Montserrat alum, Andrew Houle.

Houle has designed labels for Channel Marker Brewing in Beverly and for Blaze Brewing Company in Biddeford, Maine.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

People always ask me, “Are you coming up with the name for the beer?” But the breweries come up with the beer and the title for it, and they give me some creative direction. They might send me some photos or reference shots, but then I go off and begin my process. I typically start with a rough sketch, giving them a couple of versions to choose from, and once they choose, I start painting. I generally need about a three-month lead time because I’m creating an original oil painting specific for their beer. 

A painting has to have a certain style to match the beer and that’s not lost on me. For Channel Marker, we did this triple IPA called Captain’s Feast, and because of the name and the kind of beer it was, I knew it had to be something serious and powerful. I ended up going with this family photo of my wife’s grandfather fishing out of Gloucester. That was a rewarding one for me.

I have a bachelor’s degree in illustration from the Montserrat College of Art, but while I was there, the Fine Art Department was pulling me more in the direction of being a traditional painter. For a long time, I really struggled with that. I tried to figure out which one I was supposed to be doing while straddling both worlds — I was working for clients on things like beer can art while my paintings were showing in galleries all over the world. Eventually though, I came to realize that the two worlds can co-exist quite nicely. 

 

To see more of Houle’s work—both on and off the can—follow him on Instagram at @houle_andrew.