Josean Rivera

I recently finished my Phish summer tour ticket stub series! These were a series of watercolor paintings and ink and watercolor illustrations I created. Each one was inspired by the location of the concerts, including architecture, land features, and cuisine. They were painted on Arches 140lb watercolor paper, most sized 8.5×11 inches. A few have already been sold, but I will be adding the rest to my shop

Manchester, NH: inspired by various sites in New Hampshire. These include the Old Man of the Mountain (RIP), Franconia Notch in the White Mountains, and the cabins of Lake Winnipesaukee.

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Pittsburgh, PA: inspired by the Westinghouse Atom Smasher, a particle accelerator from the 1930s found in a residential area east of downtown Pittsburgh.

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Austin, TX: Night one was inspired by Austin’s colorful eateries, in this case, the taqueria Taquero Mucho in downtown Austin. Night two features the Congress Avenue Bridge, famous for the 1.5 million bats that live under it.

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Folsom Field, Boulder, CO: inspired by the University of Colorado’s live mascot, Ralphie the Buffalo, who’s actually a bison.

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Columbus, OH: Based on the Scioto Lounge deer sculpture that is found on the Rich Street Bridge overlooking the Scioto River.

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North Charleston, SC: Based on the Angel Oak, one of the oldest trees on the east of the Mississippi, found in South Carolina.

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Philly, PA: I was inspired by the snacks that are uniquely Philly. Night one features a Philly-style pretzel, which comes in a figure 8, along with a water ice served in the iconic 90s cup, as found at John’s Water Ice. Night two was inspired by Arctic Splash iced tea, which is sadly no longer served in cartons, and a Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets.

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Chicago, IL: Inspired by the food and architecture of Chicago. Night one has the Bean (actual name Wind Gate) in a Chicago-style hot dog. Night two has the Marina City towers replaced with Old Style tall boys, and night three presents the United Center as a deep dish pizza.

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Forest Hills, NY: I was inspired by old photographs of tennis matches that took place at the stadium, which was designed in the 1920s as the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

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Saratoga Springs, NY: Based on some core memories from this venue. For me, SPAC was where I finally “got it.” The drive under the bridge, signaling you were finally there. The organized chaos of shakedown. And finally, that moment the sun goes down and the light show begins!

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So, I’ll admit this site has been a bit neglected over the years. My switch towards Phish inspired art led to my other site, www.phishart.net taking up most of my time. I plan to go back and document the art I’ve created for this, as well as non-Phish art I’ve done over the years! Stay tuned for new posts/old art.