Crowler Art Q&A: Veronica Van Jura

By Dan Carlson

When we first met our current crowler label artist, Veronica Van Jura, we knew her as the DCU Center’s director of marketing, where she does an awesome job producing the bi-annual Brew Woo beer festival.

But on the side, she’s also a talented artist with a uniquely abstract style. If you haven’t checked out her art-focused Instagram page, it’s a real treat. 

One of the first things you notice is her distinctive use of texture and color, and that especially comes through in the crowler label art she created for us. We chatted with Veronica about how she came to develop her style and the inspiration behind the label.

Your crowler art is obviously more abstract than most of our previous ones. How did you get into creating abstract art?

I love the psychology behind art and studying the “why” and the “how” behind the colors. It’s how I got into art and it continued into college. 

Going into senior year of college, I took classes at Pratt in New York and was very focused on color and learning about how color can enhance your art. For my senior college thesis, I was working at a group home for people with disabilities, and there were some unbelievable artists. One woman was originally a potter who had done some amazing work. We worked together through sign language - I would teach her painting, she would teach me pottery. It was very hands on, but she didn’t want to use brushes since she needed her hands to communicate. So we used our hands to paint and loved how it looked. Later on, for my thesis, I created a mural which I painted with my hands. It came out very abstract, and my interest in abstract art really took off from there. 

I always work in color and I’ve been inspired by artists that are super colorful, and, usually, not realistic. I can do realistic art - I’m always asked by people to paint portraits of their dogs, for example - but I prefer to do art that makes people think about things or not think about things. I like that people can either look at a piece and get it right away, or they feel that they have to look into deeper meaning.

Who are some of the more colorful artists that influence you?

Ashley Longshore is my favorite artist of all time. And I love Dr. Suess. It sounds silly, but he had incredible art outside of his books, and he created a happy, whimsical feel for people. Alex Monopoly, as well - he takes these well-known symbols and whimsical characters and puts them into more luxurious settings, and he uses color to enhance the art. And he was doing it way before other people and before Instagram. 

What was the inspiration behind the crowler piece?

When I was creating the design it was dead-smack in the middle of the pandemic, and knew from social media and the news and listening and observing that everyone was going to need a pick-me-up. I really wanted to make something that looks super happy and makes people smile a bit - especially after this.  

I also looked at your past crowler designs and got a little nervous since my style is different. I thought “is this going to be too weird and abstract? Will people think ‘oh, you just smeared some paint’” - which is not how it happens. I wanted to stay true to what I do as an artist, my style. 

And I ended up thinking about water and sunshine and how these tend to make people happy - be it pools, lakes, beaches, paddleboarding, and so on. Not too many people are sad about that!  

I also wanted to reflect how I feel so welcomed at Redemption Rock. It’s not a typical brewery - it’s feminine yet neutral, and I never feel intimidated. I didn’t want people to pick up a hot pink can or just a dark blue can, but something as a go-between. 

And if you buy three and line them up, they look amazing! 

From a technical standpoint, how did you create the piece?

I used canvas, started with a blue base, and worked up from there, probably doing about 6 or 7 layers. I would do a layer, walk away, do another, and so on. Layer and texture has always been part of my style. With abstract, I’m always going back to the piece - it doesn’t always come to me at once.

I also included a few drips - not sure how it first happened but I’ve been putting these in my work and people like it. It’s kind of like graffiti or a street-art feel on a very happy-go-lucky-feeling piece. I’ve alway tried to add that with a blue or pink or purple. It’s something very pretty and nice-looking while also being kind of funky. 

I always use metallics and I love goldleaf. You can see it on the can four or so times. I use a foil that comes in flakes, and I take a paint brush to add adhesive and put down some gold-leaf specks. Let it set for 15 minutes, then brush away the gold that doesn’t stick and you’re left with a shiny streak.

I focused on using calming brush strokes to create the rhythm of the painting and I use a lot of blending and color so that I can create that feel. I know that abstract is not everyone’s cup of tea, but they want something aesthetically pleasing to look at. To feel that release. I like that middle ground: you can feel it, but it’s also good to look at. 

What’s next for you as an artist?

The main thing I’m working on is a full series. I’ve never done a full series - usually my work is custom pieces, so I haven’t taken the time to paint for myself. I’ve never been able to show my work - I’m pretty shy - but that’s the bridge I want to tackle next.

You have to push yourself as an artist. It’s easy to post something on Instagram, but when you’re showing your work, you have to talk about it and explain it. But I sometimes like to keep the messages inside. The point of abstract for me is that I have my message and you have your interpretation and looking at it and figuring that out is always the best part - it could be anything for anyone on any given day.