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Zenvironments

ZENVIRONMENTS - THE ART AND DESIGN WORLD OF ZACH JOHNSEN

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W. STEWARTSTOWN MURAL

8×16 ft mural depicting a moose amongst tiger lillies riding on a cloud in paradise… just a fun, colorful mural celebrating the paradise that is the North Country, NH

Acrylic latex paint on plywood, W. Stewartstown, NH, 2024.

LES PAUL GUITAR

Custom painted Les Paul Gibson guitar featuring a satisfied caterpillar puffing on an after meal hookah. Acrylic paint with gloss varnish.

TONGUE IN CHEEK

Wood cutout installation for Tongue in Cheek restaurant, North Conway, NH. Roughly 5x7ft, composed of layered, individual hand painted elements mounted to the wall.

LOON MTN

Original art for Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, NH. Loon was one of my local mountains growing up and one that was friendly to snowboarders from the beginning so it was an honor to make this! Click the link below for more info.

https://www.loonmtn.com/latest-news/artist-series

OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL MURALS

Set of murals for the newly built Oyster River Middle School in Durham, NH. One mural celebrates oceans and mountains and the other forests and rivers. Each mural size 8x23ft painted with interior latex paint.

COÖS BREWING CO.

Various artwork for the northern NH brewery, COOS Brewing Co.

BETHLEHEM MURAL

10X21ft mural on the side of the Wren Gallery in downtown Bethlehem, NH. Exterior paint on assembled and mounted panel.

BEECHER FALLS MURAL

12x32 ft mural to celebrate the hamlet of Beecher Falls, one of Vermont’s northeastern most towns before the Canadian Border and home to the original Ethan Allen furniture in the US.

KASYAN WINE

Trio of original artwork for Kasyan, a small private label wine from Dedalus Wine, based in Burlington, VT.

NH MAGAZINE

Cover art for New Hampshire Magazine’s Best of 2020 issue.

TRAVEL OREGON MURAL

Mural for Travel Oregon’s Only Slightly Exaggerated campaign. The mural is part 8 of the ongoing Oregon Mural Trail, whereby individual artists are assigned to various public walls throughout the state of Oregon to paint select still frames from the Only Slightly Exaggerated animated campaign and help promote travel and tourism in the state.

VIBE MAGAZINE

Illustration for the cover of the Mt. Washington Valley VIBE Magazine’s winter edition. I also created some spot illustrations for use throughout the magazine.

GIGANTIC BEER

Label art and design for the Portland, Oregon based brewery GIGANTIC and their limited ALL NIGHTER Imperial Mocha Stout beer.

ECOSYSTEMS

Art from my ongoing Ecosystem print series. From top to bottom: REEF, The White Bear, JUNGLE, and DESERT.

BRINK/ASCENT

“Thunderbird” artwork for ASCENT, a group show featuring extinct and endangered birds, at Talon Gallery in Portland, Oregon. “Unicorn” artwork for BRINK, a show of extinct and endangered species, at Antler Gallery in Portland, Oregon 2020.

COLEBROOK MURAL

A black and white mural completed in studio then installed and framed on the outside of the GM Stevens Building in downtown Colebrook, NH.

VERTICAL DREAMS MURAL

Reception area indoor mural for Vertical Dreams climbing gym in Nashua, NH. 8ft high x 16ft wide.

PRIMORDIAL STEW

I’m happy to announce my first official art show since moving back to the east coast!

Primordial Stew is the bubbling, rolling broth that has simmered to the perfect temperature and consistency to finally spill forth life from its core. It is the origins of the flowers and mushrooms and mud and dust and fish and frogs and people that we have come to know and love.. It includes the cycles of nature and the myths of man that have come to define our understanding of life today.

The exhibition consists of a 14 x 14 foot installation comprised of individually hand painted plywood cutouts composed around the walls and ceiling and exploding out from the center point of the wall. And what lies at the center of all this creation?  A steaming soup bowl…

Primordial Stew opens this Friday, May 3rd and runs through the month at:

Pinecone+Chickadee
6 Free Street
Portland, Maine 04101

NATURE SCENE MURAL

Black and white mural for the home office of Homeschool Outerwear, a local snowboard apparel company in Portland, Oregon. I painted a stylized outdoor scene, bringing some of the wildness of the Northwest into the small interior space.

2018 SLINGSHOT TERRAIN

Art for Slingshot Wakeboards - 2018 Terrain model.

BULLEIT FRONTIER WORKS

I was approached by Bulleit Bourbon to represent Portland and Oregon for Bulleit's Frontier Works Bulleit Bottle Impressions campaign. The assignment was to create an impression from a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon and use as the basis for a piece of art representing Portland, Oregon, and it’s pioneering spirit. In true Zenvironments fashion, I created a monster scene, interpreting the Portland frontier as a swirling microcosm of life, from the lizard in the desert to the hiker in the woods to the tumultuous skies of the heavens.. all churning together in one shared space, all connected in one beautiful and chaotic dance which springs from the same point.

HARMONIX:DROPMIX

I was approached by Boston based game developer Harmonix to produce a series of original illustrations for a new interactive game they designed called DropMix. DropMix, published by Hasbro, is a music mixing game using a mix of physical cards with chips embedded for additional online integration and play.

MEDICINE MEN

Solo Exhibition at Talon Gallery in Portland Oregon.  Showcasing new illustration work on paper.  All works watercolor, pen and ink originals.

CAMP FIRES

New explorations in painting for the solo exhibition, FOLKLORE, at Hellion Gallery, Portland, Oregon, June 2016.

ACID TEST

The newest incarnation of Acid in the Ice Cream, an ongoing series of large scale graphite and watercolor work on paper that captures the overwhelmed worker in mid explosion. Cave Gallery, Venice, CA, December 2016

SKETCHBOOK

Introducing Zach Johnsen SKETCHBOOK!

SKETCHBOOK is over 200 pages of pure sketch fury.. a comprehensive catalog of the last 15 years worth of sketch ramblings of Zach Johnsen and a mind a'flutter.  SKETCHBOOK is a contemporary art book presented as a filled artist' sketch book.  It is a standard A4 size hard cover blackbook, smythe bound with 216 printed pages on white paper stock.  The look and feel of the book is as if flipping through an actual sketchbook of Zach Johnsen - full of doodles, notes, character development, rough sketches for bigger work as well as more realized, stand-alone drawings.  The sketch is the star of this book and features nothing but.  You will not find any finished work, no prologue or artist statement or glossary.. This is not a polished coffee table book with gloss pages and spot varnish printing.. It is a sketchbook and is meant to be treated as such.  It is meant to get carried around, beat up, stickers put on it, drawings and notes made in it.  SKETCHBOOK is meant to be a conversation between the artist, his ideas, and you.

SKETCHBOOK is available for purchase here.

DOUBLE VISION

Pen and ink drawings of doubled animals.

SLINGSHOT WAKEBOARDS

I have been working with Slingshot Sports for the last 8 years creating various wake and surf board designs and utilizing both my illustration and design skills.

FOLKLORE

Illustration works for the FOLKLORE exhibition at Hellion, Gallery, Portland, Oregon, June 2016. All work watercolor and pen on paper.

ZENVIRONMENTS BRAND

I worked in conjuction with the unique RARE SKYOU online platform to create a series of Zenvironments branded products available on demand. Although this never fully came to fruition, it was fun to go through the production process and test out some amazing new technology in apparel printing.

DEATH + TAXES

Art created for the offices of Zealot, Los Angeles. Painting on canvas.. 4x8 ft.

FOREST FOR THE TREES MURAL

Mural on the Ford Building in Portland, Oregon as part of the Forest for the Trees festival.  Collaboration with artist INSA and John Gourley of the band Portugal the Man.  INSA painted the backgrounds, I painted the exploding puffer fish, and John painted the cascading comet. This mural spanned over 100 feet and was painted in 12 frames which we photographed individually and compiled as an animated Gif for fun viewing online!  Brainchild of INSA and his gif-iti murals!

PUFFER WOODS

Combining my love of screen printing and my love of wood cutouts, I present the Puffer Wood series. They are screenprinted puffer fish on cut out wood 3/8" thick.  Each and every background was hand painted by me using acrylic and spray paint.  Each is a unique colorway and no two are the same.  Only 20 of these were produced.. 

Final size is roughly 14" in diameter.  All are signed and numbered on the back. 

LINE SKIS - THE TEASE

Tiger totem illustration for the Tease model of Line Skis.

RESIGN WINE

Resign Wine licensed a number of my Acid in the Ice Cream artworks for their premier roll out of wines. They commissioned an original drawing for their flapship wine, Prim Rose. I also created the wine typeface for each bottle.

HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR - BRAND ART

Various design and illustration for the Portland based technical outerwear company HOMESCHOOL.

LAND YACHTZ SKATEBOARDS

Various illustration work for Land Yachtz Skateboards

THE HOUSE OF UNCOMMONS

Solo exhibition of painting work at Hellion Gallery, Portland, Oregon July 2013.  Check out a process video of the work coming together.

The House of Uncommons is the governmental system regulating the flow of life and energy within the spirit and cosmic world. Similar in a fashion to the US and UK parliamentary ruling classes, the House of Uncommons is comprised of a prime minister (Lord Overseer), dignitaries representing domestic and foreign affairs (Shadow Ministers), education officials, secretaries of state and the like. Unlike the government we know which regulates roads, people, money, etc, the House of Uncommons is responsible for regulating the ebbs and flows of the spirit. 

The members of the House are invisible to the 2 eyes (barely a glimpse can be caught with the "3rd eye") but altogether responsible for the balance of internal and karmic energies, electric brain circulation, surges and lulls in power and subtle and barely discernible shifts in consciousness that often get mistaken for "emotion" in people. When one feels a sickly pain in his/her/I stomach, when one experiences diarrhea, when one can feel anxious or shifty…. In most cases this can be attributed to a change in the nature of the ruling class within the House of Uncommons. 

One might wonder if fate or luck has dealt him/her/I a bad hand,  or maybe a good hand. That hand was most likely dealt by the shadow government within the House of Uncommons, the Queens Royal Opposition and the organization which governs the laws of the spiritual world. The prayers sent skyward, the aggravated and agitated states found inside cars stuck in traffic, over stimulation, bad manners, the easing of stress and the feeling of contentment; all these are actually controlled not by "mood" but by leaders within the House of Uncommons. While not officially concerned with matters of the "flesh", some of these power swings and shifts in policy within the shadow realm inevitably seep into the land of aches and pains and driving around buying aspirin.

The House of Uncommons has yet to be fully recognized as a legitimate governing body, although this show is a step towards official recognition. The leaders within the House are spirits of the mask and cloth, rarely exposing their true identities just like their physical counterparts. My role as artist and creator is to bring these leaders into the spotlight and into the consciousness of the public of the “flesh”.

GUINESS - REACH FOR GREATNESS

Illustrations I created for Guiness beer's Reach for Greatness campaign.  Video of the final product can be seen here.

X GAMES APPAREL

Art for a clothing line surrounding the X-Games..

SHADOW CABINET EXHIBITION

Exhibition of new paintings on panel..Cave Gallery in Los Angeles, July 2014.

The Shadow Cabinet is a faction of the House of Uncommons, the governmental system regulating the flow of life and energy within the spirit and cosmic world. Similar in a fashion to the US and UK parliamentary ruling classes, the House of Uncommons is comprised of a prime minister (Lord Overseer), dignitaries representing domestic and foreign affairs (Shadow Ministers), education officials, secretaries of state and the like. Unlike the government we know which regulates roads, people, money, etc, the House of Uncommons is responsible for regulating the ebbs and flows of the spirit. 

The Shadow Cabinet is the division of the House of Uncommons which deals directly in the oversight and regulation of the governing body itself.  Not all sentient beings or all forms of energy in the shadow realm are part of the parliamentary system.  Many congregations of energy are benign, lazy creatures that live forever by expending the minimum amount of energy required to survive.  Other forces are chaotic and crazy with no regard for governmental oversight, regulation or temperance.  If given the opportunity, these chaotic energies would quickly spiral out of control. Thus the Shadow Cabinet is absolutely necessary to closely monitor, distribute and stabilize these various energy forces of the spirit world.

This control exists not only over outer space, but inner space.. not only "out" there, but "in" here... within ourselves here on planet Earth. The members of the Shadow Cabinet, because of their role in regulatory systems, are invariably linked to ourselves here on the blue planet... because the same energy "out" there is the same within ourselves.  The balancing of power on a celestial level affects the balancing of internal power, electric function and circulation, power assemblage and the like.  Oftentimes, the emotion of dread or elation we feel here on earth, or shifts in consciousness we experience, are directly correlated to shifts in energy flow within the Shadow Cabinet within the House of Uncommons. 

HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR MURAL

Mural for the offices of Homeschool Outerwear, a local snowboard apparel company in Portland, Oregon.

NY MAGAZINE

Editorial illustrations for NY Magazine about the rise of right wing hate groups online.

HYPER TWIGS

Painted and cut plywood installation.

ACID REFLUX

Large scale paintings on paper for a solo exhibition at MOHS Gallery in Denmark, 2012.

GNU SNOWBOARDS

Art I created for the GNU Metal Gnuru snowboard model from 2013, 2014 and 2015 seasons.  

ARBOR LONGBOARDS

Special release of the Arbor Axis, Mission and Timeless long board models featuring work from my ACID IN THE ICE CREAM series of drawings.

PREMIUM CAMPING EXHIBITION

2 person installation show with Blaine Fontana at Evo Artspace in Seattle, Washington.. in conjunction with Arbor Snowboards..

NIKE

Original artwork in graphite for Nike's t-shirt program.

DOS ART SHOW

Large scale graphite drawings created for DOS Art Show, Toronto, Ontario - July, 2013

THE JUPITER CUBE

Myself and Japanese artist MHAK were commissioned to paint the CUBE in the middle of the Jupiter Hotel courtyard, Portland, OR.  As part of our SPIRIT FLYER exhibition.. in conjunction with Hellion Gallery.

THE SUNNYSIDE YARD EXHIBITION

Thinkspace Gallery installation… Painted cut plywood of various sizes. July 2008.

ACID OVER EASY

SOLO Exhibiton of ACID drawings at BACKWOODS Gallery, Melbourne, Australia, 2011

SPIRIT FLYER EXHIBITION

New paintings on paper for a two person show with myself and MHAK at Compound Gallery, Portland, Oregon.

CONTAINS CAFFEINE

Original artwork created for the premier issue of CONTAINS CAFFEINE, an Australian magazine dedicated to cafe culture.

HYPER STUMPS

Installation using northwest drift stumps.. Thinkspace Gallery 2008

SOFT TARGETS

Modified Targets.. graphite on paper

WANDERERS

Roving installation project utilizing hand painted and cut plywood characters in various settings.

THE TRINITY EXHIBITION

Three person show at Thinkspace Gallery featuring illustration work by myself, Marion Bolognesi, and Tony Phillipou

KINKYFORM INKYWOOD

I was selected by Kinkyform as an artist to customize one of its new products, the KINKYWOOD, a screenprinted table template you can assemble at home. Limited to 50 pieces produced.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

Painting collaborative between myself and artist MHAK.. for the Strange Bedfellows exhibition at Compound Gallery, Portland, Oregon.

HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR ILLUSTRATIONS

Series of original illustrations inspired by Frank Frizetta for HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR.  These were concepts for labels.

TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC

Live painting collaboration with Dana Woulfe at Rotture, Portland, Oregon.

K2 SNOWBOARDS

Art and design for K2 Snowboards.

ACID IN THE ICE CREAM

The series of drawings that began the Acid in the Ice Cream saga.. Almost life size drawings on paper of individuals in the work force at the exact moment of "losing it"… Graphite and watercolor on paper.  Originally shown at Backspace Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 2008.

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Painted cut plywood installation at Foundation One Gallery, Decatur, Georgia.. 2007

MOUNTAIN DEW GREEN LABEL ART

Working in conjunction with Compound Gallery in Portland, Oregon, I was given the opportunity to design an artist Mountain Dew can. 

OSIRIS SHOES - C.A.N.V.A.S

I was invited to be an artist for Osiris Skate's CANVAS program.  I created original artwork for the entire sneaker package, from the box to insoles and outer shell. This main graphic also ended up as a tshirt and print ad.

ART OFFICIAL ALBUM ART

Original illustration for the Florida based group, Art Official

ARBOR SNOWBOARDS

Art and design for the California based ARBOR SNOWBOARDS

BLACK + WHITE MAGAZINE

Series of editorial Illustrations for BLACK + WHITE Magazine.

LINE SKIS

Artwork for other models of LINE Skis

BETWEEN THE LINES EXHIBITION

Two person show at Foundation One Gallery between myself and Charlie Owens - Decatur, Georgia, 2007

SILLY THING HONG KONG

Original illustrations for the Hong Kong based brand Silly Thing..

ARCHIVES

Various works 2001 - 2007

W. STEWARTSTOWN MURAL

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LES PAUL GUITAR

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TONGUE IN CHEEK

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TongueInCheek2.jpg

LOON MTN

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OYSTER RIVER SCHOOL MURALS

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COÖS BREWING CO.

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BETHLEHEM MURAL

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BEECHER FALLS MURAL

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KASYAN WINE

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NH MAGAZINE

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TRAVEL OREGON MURAL

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travel-oregon_front.jpg

VIBE MAGAZINE

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GIGANTIC BEER

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ECOSYSTEMS

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REEF-front.jpg

BRINK/ASCENT

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COLEBROOK MURAL

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VERTICAL DREAMS MURAL

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color-mural2.jpg

PRIMORDIAL STEW

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NATURE SCENE MURAL

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2018 SLINGSHOT TERRAIN

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Slingshot-Terrain_front.jpg

BULLEIT FRONTIER WORKS

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HARMONIX:DROPMIX

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MEDICINE MEN

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BONE

CAMP FIRES

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ACID TEST

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Anti-Freeze

SKETCHBOOK

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DOUBLE VISION

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SLINGSHOT WAKEBOARDS

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FOLKLORE

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ZENVIRONMENTS BRAND

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DEATH + TAXES

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FOREST FOR THE TREES MURAL

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PUFFER WOODS

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LINE SKIS - THE TEASE

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RESIGN WINE

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HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR - BRAND ART

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LAND YACHTZ SKATEBOARDS

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THE HOUSE OF UNCOMMONS

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GUINESS - REACH FOR GREATNESS

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X GAMES APPAREL

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SHADOW CABINET EXHIBITION

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HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR MURAL

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NY MAGAZINE

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HYPER TWIGS

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hyper+twigs3.jpg

ACID REFLUX

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GNU SNOWBOARDS

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ARBOR LONGBOARDS

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PREMIUM CAMPING EXHIBITION

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premium-camping_front.jpg

NIKE

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DOS ART SHOW

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THE JUPITER CUBE

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THE SUNNYSIDE YARD EXHIBITION

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ACID OVER EASY

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SPIRIT FLYER EXHIBITION

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CONTAINS CAFFEINE

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HYPER STUMPS

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SOFT TARGETS

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WANDERERS

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wanderers_front.jpg

THE TRINITY EXHIBITION

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KINKYFORM INKYWOOD

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STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

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HOMESCHOOL OUTERWEAR ILLUSTRATIONS

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TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC

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K2 SNOWBOARDS

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ACID IN THE ICE CREAM

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WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

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MOUNTAIN DEW GREEN LABEL ART

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OSIRIS SHOES - C.A.N.V.A.S

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ART OFFICIAL ALBUM ART

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ARBOR SNOWBOARDS

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BLACK + WHITE MAGAZINE

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LINE SKIS

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BETWEEN THE LINES EXHIBITION

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SILLY THING HONG KONG

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ARCHIVES

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Zenvironments Studio 2021 - Please visit me on Instagram and Facebook