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Limited Edition BA Shields
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– Limited Edition BA Shields –
The Artist Series
What is the Artist Series?
Over the years, we’ve seen some incredible artwork end up on custom shields and much of that art was done by firefighter artists!
So this is our way of featuring these artists.
Each month, a new artist will be featured with a custom shield they designed. That shield will only be available for 1 year and then it’s gone forever.
Proceeds from these custom shields goes right back to the artist that designed it!
March’s Featured Artist
Austin Svenson
Salt City Slaps
Meet Austin,
I was born and raised in Alberta Canada, and I currently work as a career fireman in the beautiful state of Utah. My small company Salt City Slaps was born from a doodle on a fire house white board, my chief at the time saw and loved the drawing, and then asked me to design mascots for each of our stations. In fact, most of my stickers come from conversations or things that happen around the fire house. Not long after that I had other departments start reaching out for mascot designs, and here we are!
My art style comes from ideas found in graffiti and retro cartoon art styles. I like to incorporate the bright colors and hard lines found in these artistic styles into my own designs. The back ground for this mask is actually a graffiti art piece found in Edmonton Alberta, where I was born. Bonus points if you know who the quote on the mask came from.
I hope you enjoy this style as much as I do, and I hope that you grab a mask! See you out there.
Austin’s Shields
February’s Featured Artist
Samuel Purcell
Black Swine Design
Meet Samuel Purcell, the gentleman behind Black Swine Design.
Samuel works as a professional career firefighter for one of Connecticut’s finest bustling metropolises. Samuel started graphic design through BSD in November of 2022 after nearly a ten year hiatus from creating art. Black Swine Design was established out of complete boredom and a desire to spearhead a unique approach in fire service graphic design. Sam’s artwork approach is inspired by traditional tattoos and retro cartoons.
Sam’s Shields
January’s Featured Artist
JP Sokolowski
The Tailboard Creative
Meet JP!
I’m JP, a nobody fireman in nowhere USA with an art habit. I am the Tailboard Creative. I began my fire career in the wildland arena around 2012 and have been in the fire service ever since, however, I have been creating art for as long as I can remember. I’ve designed snowboards, skateboards, tattooed, painted, you name it. I’ve been lucky enough to transition and tailor my artwork to the fire service, through stickers, paintings, or company logos, and now into my second BA Shield.
I am a firm believer that our ancestral firemen, be it the war years, or just the overall time period had the saltiest time period of all…masks? No. Pants? Yeah, just my jeans will do or I’ll roll up my boots if it’s really well off…a canvas or rubber long coat and a leather to top things off…hey grab that Pompier and scale to the 8th….and seatbelts? Nah, get on the tailboard and trust your grip! Firefighting was in its rawest form, and through some boundless optimism, clear sarcasm, a cavalier sense of safety, and with tones of satire, most of my artwork pays homage to those who came before us.
I hope you snag a shield, enjoy the artwork, and ride the Tailboard proudly.
JP’s Shields
December’s Featured Artist
Richard Zuniga
Geek Fire Ink
Meet Rich!
Hi, my name is Richard Zuniga. You may know me as “Zuni”. I have been a firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department for 12 years. It’s fun to work in the communities that I grew up with.
I love to make all forms of artwork. Hand painted murals can be found at fire stations I’ve passed through. My proudest project is a fire safety coloring book I fully illustrated for the citizens we serve.
I constantly push myself to learn new art forms and techniques. My newest discipline is tattooing. I hope you enjoy the BA Shield artwork, as it combines my passion for artwork and the job.
