About The Artist: Mags Munroe

By Dan Carlson

If you’re a regular reader of our About The Artist blog posts, you know that we like to start at the beginning and cover the basics: how’d you get into art, what’s your art journey been like, what kind of art do you do, that kind of stuff.

But our current crowler artist, the talented Mags Munroe, is far too clever for our usual schtick, and she’s preempted us with a Q&A of her own! So you can get your Mags Munroe 101 from the artist herself, and we’ll use this space to dive into the crowler art itself, and just a bit more about life as an artist. 

And honestly, it’s not a moment too soon, because this crowler label is only available for a few more days, tops. So read quickly and run to the taproom to get your crowlers before it’s too late!

Check out our TikTok for 5 MORE questions with Mags!

What was your thought process and ideation process like for this crowler label?

It started with a very loose idea. I was doodling and drawing shapes, which is kind of my usual process - I just start doodling and see what shapes feel good to draw. I drew a bunch of clouds and I rolled with that idea and wanted to center it around this motif. And I went with the bluish lilac color because it was pretty relaxing and cool. 

I started building this portrait of a girl and it started turning into her just hanging out and drinking a beer, and it reminds me of a pretty summer night and hanging out with friends. And that’s kind of how it came to be.

Is there a certain story or message behind the piece, or is it more just about capturing that feeling?

I was mostly just going for the vibe. But if anyone has a story they think of when they see it, I think that’d be amazing.

How did this particular process compare to your usual process for other projects?

I’d say this is how I tackle my usual work and my personal work. I start with a rough idea based on an emotion or a feeling - a fragment of an idea - and I build it as I draw and as I go.

From a technical standpoint, what was your process for this piece?

I made a piece completely digitally - but one thing that really helped me is that during the sketching process, I put the drawing on a 3D model of a can, which is really easy to do nowadays in Procreate. And I could see in real time how the design was going to match up with being on the crowler. Sometimes, if you just take a drawing and put it on a can, it doesn’t work as well. You have to be seamless, in a way, and it has to be easy to read on the smaller parts of the can. So that was really helpful during the process. Everything else, I did digitally in Adobe Fresco.

Are there any easter eggs or hidden details that are special to you on the can?

Well, I don’t know if it’s obvious or not, but the girl’s hair is also made of clouds. 

Also, the little stars that are in the background are something that I’ve been throwing into my work as a kind of motif or theme. Those little, round, nubby stars - they’ve made an appearance here and they’re a new little friend in my artwork. I had a piece before this that also had those stars in the background, but all multi-colored. So I loosely experiment with those here, too.

Your color scheme for this piece is pretty unique compared to some of our previous crowler labels. How did you come up with that?

I really wanted it to have a strong overall theme and concept. My favorite crowler designs usually have a strong vibe, so when I set out to do this, I decided on “cloud” and “purple” - I wanted that to be a strong concept so it’d be really recognizable. 

I did go between something a little more blue, and at one point had really bright orange accents in there (which are still in there a little bit). But in the final stages, I edited it a lot with layers and gradient maps, and ultimately made it more unified and purple-toned, because I think it had the most punch as a crowler label.

When someone is enjoying a beer from this crowler, what do you want them to feel?

I want them to feel like the girl on the can! I want them to feel cool, laid back, airy, floaty, breezy. I want them to feel like it’s nighttime and everything is glowing and just feeling as cool as the girl.

Let’s talk more about you! How did you decide to become an artist full time?

I became an artist because it helps me to look at myself introspectively. I think a lot of my art is fueled and created because of a need to decipher myself, in a way that isn’t words. That’s ultimately what led me to creating, it’s why I love creating. It’s what a lot of my artwork is fueled by - breaking things down and understanding them in a visual way.

What kind of impact do you want your art to have?

My favorite feeling is when I see someone else’s artwork and I’m like “ oh my god, I know exactly how they feel.” I understand that emotion and I just feel so seen. That’s ultimately the main thing I would be happy to get out of my art - for people to see it and for them to feel either very connected to it from an emotional standpoint, or inspired by it in a visual way. Either way, I’d love for people to have a connection to my art and for them to either create more and dive into their personal things or feel seen emotionally from it.

Want even more Mags Munroe content? Check out our second Q&A on TikTok!