School pride and power all in a giant poster — that’s the latest project this holiday season in conjunction with Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School, Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, and 5 Under Golf Center.
I recently got to meet Bishop David Toups of the Diocese of Beaumont to discuss some ideas of bringing more awareness to Kelly Catholic High School. We shared a lot of ideas, interests, and philosophies on informing the public, rallying the troops (current staff/students/parents/supporters), and celebrating some successes that folks may not know or may have overlooked.
Along with some strategic billboards touting some “did you know?” kind of facts and features, we shared a strong desire to grow school pride among the younger students who may have Kelly in their future. That lead to creating a poster full of school spirit elements, facts, history, and images to interact with for current, past, and future.
Bishop Toups liked some work from my portfolio and asked if I could put that style into play for this poster. The goal was to make something visually striking and attractive to multiple audience types, but also something that is informative and gets the viewer involved to learn and explore. A conversation piece and a visual inspiration of ink and pride…
This poster was super fun to make, and thanks to the deep history of success of Kelly High School, I had plenty of material to work with here. I’d made some art projects in the past for Kelly, so I had a few illustration files saved that I could put to use. I updated those, and mapped out a layout that could incorporate city, school, and excitement.
First, I researched a ton about the school and met with representatives like Mrs. Morgan Lighty, Mr. John Miller, and Bishop Toups to review and categorize information. I also met with 5 Under Golf Center owner, Don Shaver, who has a heavy involvement with the school, athletics, and was excited to help make something happen. He was able to give some insights and helpful things to add while 5 Under sponsored the development of this poster.
This poster features the mascot (bulldog) big and washed in a vintage distressed nature, gripping a rosary. The name takes front and center while the surrounding area includes street names, churches, community landmarks, and names of people. The bottom base is a refinery and river to represent the Neches River and the background of industry. The recent years of state championships of baseball and soccer are highlighted with names of coaches like Jason Tyner, Mike Long, Al Raab, and others are mixed in with images of all the sports including golf, track, volleyball, softball, basketball, and more. Music, art, school work, and Catholic icons are throughout, plus –Lamar University is represented as well.
It was a lot of fun to do this, and see it come to fruition in print. We teamed up with my friends at Americom Marketing to print about a thousand of these, and the color printed out terrifically with vivid, bright tones that really make the images stand out brilliantly.
Bishop Toups and the Diocese distributed these posters out to students and staff as Christmas presents, just before heading off into the holiday vacation break. We’ve received great feedback already, but we hope this continues to be a visual inspiration and mark of pride for all associated with the school. I’m grateful to work on it and see it out in the crowd. It’s so exciting that my role as president of 5 Under Golf can reach across these different ways of art and commerce and beyond the golf venue, and I love connecting with different people and organizations.
Can’t wait to see what’s next!
See more artwork here • Click to see Saints Project here
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larue art + copy 