Daily Inspiration: Meet Kevin Barrett

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Barrett

Hi Kevin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! My name is Kevin Barrett and I’m a digital artist from Iowa. I moved to Colorado in 2011 to study at CSU where I received my BFA in Printmaking. After I graduated I really wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do so I reached out to a handful of companies that vended music festivals, my favorite way to pass the time. After a few events and designs I was invited to work at the Sloth Steady flagship store in Chicago. I started Bear Fruit on the side while working there, got to make some official pins for Electric Forest, SummerCamp, String Cheese, Big Gigantic, Lotus, Papadosio, and was then let go that Summer.
I moved back to Colorado after that and began vending festivals myself as Bear Fruit Designs. Since starting almost 8 years ago I’ve created clothing for some Colorado favorites, Russ Liquid, The Polish Ambassador, Sunsquabi, and Defunk. All of my clothing and accessories are produced one at a time and creating custom designs for people to express themselves makes me the happiest.
As of now I’ve officially vended 50 music festivals with my company and recently been digitally painting live with Procreate on a rotating screen connected to my iPad. I’m still dialing in my setup but I haven’t seen anyone else do it like this before. Attempting to learn Aftereffects and Blender at the moment too, but that’s going to take some getting used to.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s tough out there! Managing your creative self and balancing the business side of things can be scary enough without worrying about vending weather or slow online purchases. Creating a solid digital presence has definitely been an issue of. mine, when I’d rather just create all day. Is it worth the stress? Absolutely. Would a consistent paycheck be nice? Of course. Every sale is a victory, every new customer a friend.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My art blends the themes of nature, emotion, and animals with a futuristic twist, creating a unique style that I call “future retro.” The pieces and clothing explore the intersection between the natural world and modern technology, with a focus on capturing the essence of different animals and the emotions they evoke. I am definitely known for my 1 of 1, abstract, funky clothing, I’ve only recently been creating actually art pieces again.

I use Procreate on my iPad to digitally draw and paint for almost all of my Bear Fruit work. Adobe illustrator for all of my laser engraving projects, but they’re both great to send layers back and forth between programs and also from my iPad to my laptop.

At the heart of my work is a desire to provoke thought and inspire connection, keeping it as funky as possible, and to explore the complexities of our world through a unique lens of the future retro. I take pride in having my own style. Its pretty easy to pick out one of my patterns at a festival. I am also very proud of my official clothing for musical acts, I would really like to do more of that, but musicians have so many options when it comes to merchandise.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Tough to tell! I tend to most of my sales at music festivals during the summer season, and there seems to be less of them. I had two big events cancel on me last year, which is a little unsettling. I’m not sure if it’s a generational loss of interest or what’s going on there. Live music has always been a big part of my life, it’s the main reason I chose to become a vendor and do what I do. I’m sure the Covid phase had a role to play as well, that was hard to come back from for a lot of people and events if they weren’t stable beforehand.

I’ve been seeing more and more AI art being sold which I’m not very excited about,

But I like to be optimistic and am looking forward to the 2025 season. There’s lots more art to be made.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bearfruitdesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bearfruitdesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BearFruitDesigns/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-barrett-a0a4a0105/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kevin-lebarren