Meet Paky Callahan, the Artist Behind The 2023 Joe’s Valley Fest Artwork

Every year, the Joe’s Valley Fest features brand-new artwork for our poster and t-shirts. It keeps things fresh, but also gives us a chance to work with talented artists in our community. This year, we linked up with Paky Callahan for our 9th Fest’s artwork. Needless to say, he totally crushed it and released one of our favorite designs yet. Here’s the 2023 artwork and a little about Paky:

All paid tickets include a t-shirt featuring this year’s artwork.

Paky is currently a tattoo artist in Salt Lake City. Give him a follow on Instagram.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Austin, Texas, but spent 11 years living in Denver with a number of winters in Mexico, before moving to Salt Lake City in 2021.

How would you describe your art style?

I usually avoid trying to describe my art style but you could probably categorize it as traditional tattoo adjacent. The general style and technique of my art is traditional, but with less conventional (some might say zaney) subject matter. I just like drawing weird stuff. Animals doing people stuff, Americana folk themes, sci-fi stuff, and of course a lot of skulls.

What was your inspiration for this year's Fest artwork?

The idea for this year’s design came from the rather convenient realization that the most iconic boulder at Joe’s, The Angler, just so happens to have almost the same shape as the crown of a cowboy hat. Pine trees were thrown in for good measure.

What role do climbing and the outdoors play in your life? What role do they play in your art?

As is true with most climbers, climbing takes up the majority of my free time. My friend groups, vacation destinations, and daily routines all revolve around the silly but friggin’ terrific activity of clamberin’ on some rocks. In general, I try to stay away from climbing/outdoor themes in my art though, because the outdoors are already beautiful and I don’t know if I can really add much to them. In my art, I tend to stick to skulls, snakes and more tattoo/skateboard-related ideas. That being said, I do watch a lot of Bob Ross and love the process of playing god and creating a little world through a drawing of a tower city or cozy little landscape scene.

Don’t forget! All paid tickets include a t-shirt featuring this year’s artwork.