Pabst Blue Ribbon — the beer of choice for actor Dennis Hopper’s character Frank Booth in the 1986 film Blue Velvet — remains a staple in plenty of Americans’ refrigerators throughout the year. Soon, those cans will be adorned with the original artwork of an Asheville-based artist.
Hannah Bunzey is one of 10 artists to win the brewery’s Art Can Contest. In turn, she receives $10,000 and will have her work on millions of cans of beer.
“I was so excited when I found out,” Bunzey says. “I’d spent all of that morning pacing around the house, preparing myself for the worst. I was so relieved and happy when I saw my design posted on PRB’s Instagram [page] — it still feels unreal.”
Bunzey heard about the contest in 2021 when she saw fellow artists participating on Instagram. Having previously designed multiple beer labels for Aloha, Ore.-based Mirror World Brewing, she decided to try her hand at the PBR competition.
“The contest required that we only use blue, white and the silver of the can — which was a challenge since my actual artwork consists of very colorful, psychedelic landscapes,” Bunzey says. “I wanted to make something that was still true to my style, so I made sure to include characters that appear often in my work.”
Up against an estimated 7,000 entries, Bunzey figured she didn’t stand a chance and was therefore surprised to learn that her design — which includes spaceships, tall trees and an even taller anthropomorphic sunflower — was selected as one of 25 finalists. Looking over her fellow qualifiers, she noticed several artists whose work she’d already been following and felt honored to be part of “great and unique” designs that made for a tough competition.
The contest win will allow Bunzey to pursue a full-time art career, a goal that’s she’s gradually been working toward. After six years of trying to grow her art business while also working a full-time job, she shifted to a part-time position within the past year to further pursue her passion. Now, she’s ready to “take the final leap” and achieve her dream.
“I plan to start by using some of the money to pursue some projects that have been on hold. I’ve made some shirts of my art, and people have responded really well to those, so I’m planning to invest some of the money into shirts and hoodies,” she says. “Some other projects I hope to bring to fruition this year include coloring books, more wood cutout paintings, art books and tapestries. I can’t wait to see more of my ideas come to life.”
To learn more, visit avl.mx/b84. —EA
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