Somewhere between the shared brains of collaborators Josh Kenyon and Colby Nichols is a land occupied by their beliefs, passions, thoughts, and memories. Returning for their second solo show at Subtext, these seasoned creators guide us on a voyage through their past, present, and everything in-between to find out what makes them happy.
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Colby: “Traveling from California to anywhere means you’re probably driving through the desert. Both Josh and I did a lot of traveling through the desert and re-imagined all the road signs we saw as subliminal cacti.”
Josh: "When I was a kid I remember starring out the window of the car and letting my mind play with everything that was passing by. This piece was inspired by what an object could say if it could talk."
Josh: “Music plays a very big part in our creative process. While creating the artwork for Shapes & Smiles, we tried to surround ourselves with sounds that added to the vibe of the show and listen to bands that would really help bring it to life.”
Colby: “One of the first things we decided early on while creating this body of work was that we wanted to play with the composition of our pieces. We wanted to try and create a scene without it feeling like a scene.”
Josh: “My favorite days are when my wife and I leave the city and just enjoy life and nature. With this piece I wanted it to feel like a simple getaway.”
Colby: “When Josh and I sit down to create our first step is brainstorming and most of the time those ideas start out pretty strange. ‘Ride the Weird’ is an expression we have for when one of us comes up with a strange idea, but then we ‘ride it out’ to see where it goes instead of squashing it and moving on.”
Sign of a fictitious preserver and pickler.
Josh: “On the weekends, one of my favorite things to do is preserving and pickling. I think one day I would love to be able to run a small preserving operation out of my kitchen."
Sign of a fictitious artisan cured meat shop.
Josh: “If I wasn’t a designer/artist I think I would want to be a purveyor of cured meats. Food is a huge part of my life and I wanted us to create a sign that represented what I love to eat along with my favorite animal: the fox.”
Sign of a fictitious coffee roaster.
Colby: “We are both big coffee geeks and love celebrating the craft of coffee roasting. We are surrounded by amazing coffee roasters and I think if we were to open a coffee shop this is what we’d call it.”
Sign of a fictitious tavern.
Colby: “When I think of a vacation, I think of sitting by the water with a drink in my hand and good people around me. I like to think that the Happy Harbor is the epitome of that ideal vacation.”
Josh: “There are a lot of beautiful old Victorian homes in Portland that were the inspiration for this piece. We wanted to play with the idea of good times in a happy home with friends and family. I used to love walking around and seeing the homes lit up at night.”
Colby: “There’s a place my mind goes when I read. It’s a place really high up in the clouds where nothing matters but the words in front of my eyes and the images in my head. I find that I can keep revisiting this place no matter what I’m reading.”
Josh: “Colby and I both grew up in Southern California surrounded by the desert. We wanted to create the feeling of those long, hot, summer days and how it felt like you were melting into the ground with every step.”
Colby: “Instead of creating a handful of characters that would repeat throughout the show, we decided to create a style that would allow us to make an unlimited amount of characters that all stood for the same thing. We called these little guys 'Shapesters' which are small characters that embody happy emotions and positive times in our lives. With this piece we wanted to show a large group of Shapesters marching together carrying a bottle of all the good times they’ve shared."
Josh: “One of my favorite memories from my childhood is picking fruit with my family in our backyard. It reminds me of the simple things that make me smile.”
Colby: “It’s nice to replicate a memory from each other’s past, but keep the piece open-ended enough for the viewer to attach their own story to it.”
Colby: “Dreaming is something we both do very differently. Josh has a hard time remembering dreams and, in this piece, wanted to show them as more abstract. My brain throws me into weird worlds and I wanted to show the bizarre stories my brain feed me as I dream.”
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Josh: “This is an abstract look at the idea of discovery in Oregon's forests. Since moving to Oregon, I have become mildly obsessed with foraging. Instead of just drawing a bunch of mushrooms and berries, we wanted to play with everything you could see and find in the forest.”
Colby: “I grew up skateboarding and can remember spending a lot of summer days skating with friends and rolling around everywhere. I don’t skate anymore, but I’ll always cherish those memories and the community of friends that was built around it.”
Colby: “Going into a skate shop and checking out their new board designs was one of the hightlights of my youth. Even before I knew what graphic design was I knew I wanted to make skate deck art. This piece was made to look like an old brand from my childhood.”
Josh: “Colby grew up in San Diego and I lived there for 5 years. It holds a special place in both our hearts. With this piece we wanted to capture the vibe of the coast in the simplest way possible.”
Colby: “Beach Days was probably the hardest piece to finish in the whole show. It took a lot from us to not over do it and keep the message simple.”
Josh: “I was driving through Southern Oregon listening to My Morning Jacket’s song "Wonderful" and I just felt happy to be alive. We worked with one of our good friends in Japan, Shoko Saito, to take our hand-drawn type and make it into an over sized plush pillow.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Colby: “Neither Josh or myself have ever surfed, but growing up in So Cal it was impossible to not be inspired by the dominant surf culture that surrounded us. It’s a constant theme throughout the show. This little dude represents all of the surfers who stop whatever they’re doing to get out into the water.”
Josh: “I love foxes. Plain and simple. The fox is something as of late I can’t stop thinking about. We try to sneak a fox into everything. I think it’s such a mystery creature and I don’t know why it’s in my life.”
Colby: “I’ve always been obsessed with owls. There’s something about their shape, their presence, and what they stand for that fascinates me. Until I figure out exactly why, I’ll just keep drawing owls.”
Josh: “Before I moved to Portland I wasn’t a fan of the rain. But since living here, I’ve seen the beauty around me and know that it wouldn’t be possible without the weather that we have. I have come to love a rainy day and all that grows from it.”
Josh: “I was listening to a lot of the band Canon Blue when creating the patterns and shapes for the show. With this piece I really wanted it to feel layered and energetic like the music. This approach was huge for us while working. We would try to really capture the vibe of the music and sprinkle it into the pieces.”
Josh: “For most of our work we try to have motifs and patterns throughout the pieces that all work together. For “Shapes and Smiles” the continuous line played a huge part in the pieces. We loved exploring the idea of the movement and the journey of a single line.”
Josh: “One of the only pieces I knew that had to be in the show was something about my mom. When I think of California I think of her. I have these old photos of her in her twenties with huge glasses and looking beautiful. This piece represents her and the happiness she brought to the world.”
Josh: “I have always loved driving. Being in the car with music and my wife is one of my favorite things. While discovering the continuous line style I kept going back to long drives and the shapes and lines you see. That’s where the style for this piece came from.”
