Designer, illustrator and graphic artist Keenan Shur creates dynamic, eye-popping work for huge names in both the music and Cannabis scenes.
A Southern California kid, Shur got his Bachelor of Fine Arts in printmaking at California State University, Long Beach. In 2018, at a studio on campus, Shur said he encountered an airbrush paint gun, went home, ordered a cheap set online and started teaching himself. Seven years later, airbrushing is the most requested medium by his graphic design clients, though he mostly produces digitally now, as it requires less space and is most often used for apparel.
With a portfolio that includes work for Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, Green Day, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Grateful Dead, many of Shur’s illustrations and paintings carry a vibe that evokes classic rock and the lava lamp era. He describes his art — which often looks like it belongs on black velvet — as “vintage head shop through a fun house mirror.”
Growing up in Los Angeles as part of the skate and punk music scenes, Cannabis is “just part of something you’re going to run into when you’re a part of those subcultures,” Shur said.
As far as his artistic process goes, he said weed helps him calm down and focus on the task at hand.
“I feel like I’m a really fast-paced person to begin with,” Shur said. “Weed helps even that out, so I can calm down and really get into it as long as I don’t have anything important to do afterwards. Plus, listening to music’s always more fun when you’re stoned.”
The Leaf asked him: What’s currently on repeat in the studio? Shur said he often goes on heavy kicks of certain music styles, and right now, the classic rock bug hit during a trip to South Korea a month ago.
“I was in the hotel in the middle of the night blasting Hendrix and Motorhead. That’s how the tear started. Now I’m stuck on Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland.”
Shur told the Leaf he began working with Cannabis clients, like Jelly Wizard and Dammit Bobby, around 2019, shortly after he started airbrushing. He said people in the Cannabis space are good about collaborating on a solid jump-off point or letting him run with the vision he has in his head.
When asked what he thought first drew people from the Cannabis industry to his art, he said, “Everyone loves a blacklight poster.”
