For the cannabis cover, East Providence skateboard artist Jeff Wheeler used bright, neon colors. “I wanted a black light poster, something people look at when they’re stoned,” he says. Taking center stage in the illustration is the quahog, our Ocean State’s official shellfish. The hard-shelled clam takes a toke and a nearby frog and squirrel share a joint, all behind the landmark PVD skyline. Wheeler is, proverbially, as happy as a clam in the niche of skateboard art, whose distinctive aesthetic features bold graphics, vibrant colors, and rebellious spirit. Wheeler says his streetstyle art, which he puts on skateboards, T-shirts, and products like coffee bags, is inspired by the underground comics he’s read over the years.
It’s the “popping colors” that draw him in the most, he says, pointing at a screen-printed poster on the bulletin board in Coffee Exchange. Each figure in the poster has a swathe of bright orange on their clothes. “That color makes the whole poster stand out,” he says. Wheeler rode his first skateboard when he was 11 years old and hasn’t stopped since. Sometimes he’s out on his skateboard five times a week, other weeks once or twice. “I love the concentration I have when I’m skateboarding. It’s a great break from my everyday routine,” he says. And some weeks, his skateboard just sits there at home. “It all depends on my workload,” the freelance artist explains. In May 2016, Wheeler graduated with a BFA in Illustration from New Hampshire Institute of Art and Design in Manchester, which was subsequently acquired by New England College. In 2023, the college closed the Manchester campus and moved the arts and design programs to the main campus at Henniker, NH. While attending the institute, Wheeler started working on skateboard designs. One of his first clients was Snowboard Jones in Manchester. All told, he’s done the graphics for about fifty skateboards.
Diplomas in hand, a group of ten graduates, including Wheeler, moved down to Providence. Four remain, the others having moved back to New Hampshire over the years. “It’s a really cool city,” he says. “Providence has much more of a personality than, say, a city like Boston.” Wheeler and his fiancée Rachel like hanging out with their friends, drinking beer, and watching YouTube videos. “Oh man,” he exclaims with a laugh, “does that make us sound like a bunch of nerds!” He and Rachel plan to get married this August on his father’s farm in New Hampshire. They have two cats, Ming and Angus.
Working with clients is rewarding, especially when he and they quickly get on the same page. “I really like when a client comes in with an idea, and I nail what they’re thinking,” he adds. Typically, a client gives a brief idea of what they want, be it a design for a skateboard or a logo. Wheeler sketches out the idea and then adds to it. He sends it to the client, and they both go from there. Once the client signs off, Wheeler does the line and color work, and then it goes into production. “I enjoy the back-andforth aspect of the work,” he says. He’s done designs for Civil Skateboard Shop in Providence, Peace Coast Skateboards in New Hampshire, Seventh Square Coffee in Louisiana, and Providence’s Anti-Robot Club Marketplace, Hotline Pizza, and Farm Fresh RI, among many others. He also did the cover for Motif’s 2022 Spring Guide, which featured a leprechaun in stride, and a turtle riding – you guessed it – a skateboard. In addition, he’s drawn a slew of different stoned animals that adorn the T-shirts, logos, and merchandise of cannabis companies in southern New England and the country. “Sometimes the unexpected happens, and I can build an entire world around a character I drew,” he says, citing the cover’s “Quahog Dude,” who’s appeared elsewhere while, no surprise, skateboarding. •
