When I first heard Chris Bourke would do the banner for the People’s Music, I damn near fell out of my hastily put together Ikea desk chair. Chris is my favorite artist I’ve come across in a long time. Granted, I had a D- average in my art history minor, but I know enough to know how amazing his work is.

Chris comes from a tattoo background (if you even mutter the words “Ed Hardy,” I’ll reach through your monitor and punch you in the throat), but these days he’s working with lino prints. Hand carving each lino print isn’t exactly quick or easy, but the end result takes on a power that a painting, sketch or sculpture could never inhabit. Bourke blends timeless imagery with modern themes to create art that can be inspiring, comforting and worrisome, all at the same time. His message is positive, but the reality that he’s reflecting isn’t always perfect, but hey, that’s the world we live in.

Chris’ art implores the viewer to get up, speak up, and trod on (quite literally- those are the names of three of his pieces), and if he can convince even just one person of that, this will be a better world.    

I didn’t discover Chris’ work until I got an early xerox of the cover art for Frank Turner’s “Poetry of the Deed.” Even though I was looking at a shitty copy of a copy with shadows and smudges on it, I was blown away. I immediately looked him up and ordered a print. My Trod On print is one of my favorite things in my apartment, including the whiskey. It’s far bigger than ink on paper. It’s art. Damn fine art.

I could go on for hours about how amazing Bourke’s art is, but that old cliché about a picture being worth a thousand words is slapping me in the back of the head, so just go check out his page. His portfolio is a virtual museum that reflects the struggles and victories of modern life better than any exhibit I’ve ever seen. And if you’re not exactly in the art buying tax bracket, stay cool, because Chris’ prints are really affordable and worth way more than he’s charging.