Dave Van Patten, artist of our most recent Grateful Dead collaboration, is known for his colorful, surreal, and irreverent style. In 2023, Van Patten took home the Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for the Grateful Dead’s In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden ’81 ’82 ’83 box set — a nod to his deep roots in the Dead’s visual legacy. We spoke with him about his inspiration and artwork.
RS: What were you inspired by for the Grateful Dead Reyn Spooner shirt artwork?
DVP: To find inspiration for the Grateful Dead Reyn Spooner art, I first took a long look through several books of old Hawaiian vintage posters. I just wanted to be immersed in what Hawaiian art felt like. Considering I’ve already created a lot of imagery for the Grateful Dead, the addition of the skeleton characters came pretty intuitively. I just wanted it to feel like a fun jam session out on the beach at sunset.
RS: You’ve had a lot of experience creating artwork for the Grateful Dead. Why do you think your style works well for them?
DVP: I think my style has worked so well for the Grateful Dead because we have similar mindsets of being fairly laid-back, and significantly weird / freakish in nature. For the Grammy winning art, I just created some of the strangest characters I could imagine and it ended up feeling like a bunch of Muppets on acid, waiting in line for a Dead show. I’ve never taken myself too seriously and I think the tinge of humor along with a general sense of joy in my work matches the vibe of the Dead fairly well.
RS: Do you listen to Grateful Dead music when getting into the mindset to create artwork for album covers?
DVP: I absolutely listen to Grateful Dead music while creating album covers. When I created the Grammy cover, I became so immersed with the Dead’s music, I literally felt like I was hearing messages from them through their music regarding which characters to create. It felt kind of shamanic. I do the same thing with other bands as well. I’ll typically listen to a band’s entire catalog while creating their art. I like to let the energy of the music speak to me. It’s usually never preplanned, but things come as I listen.
RS: What’s your favorite album/song/show by the Grateful Dead?
DVP: My favorite album and show by the Dead is on January 1, 1969 at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The live album opens up with “Dark Star.” That show has a great mix of ethereal jams and some great rocking ones as well. My favorite song isn’t anything obscure. It’s the opening track of American Beauty, “Box of Rain.” Over the years it’s been my go-to song when I’m feeling kind of heavy and need to be uplifted. It’s gotten me through a lot of tough times.
Shop Grateful Dead "Far Out" here.
Check out Spooner Tunes Vol. 19 curated by Dave Van Patten here.
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