Colorado Artist Pat Milbery is dedicated to decorating the city he loves

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]I[/dropcap]f you hang out in Denver long enough, it’s not uncommon to meet people who are involved with so many things, and are so productive, that it’s hard to understand how they possibly find time for it all. Your deadlines, goals and divided commitments suddenly pale in comparison to the awesome amount they have managed to achieve. Pat Milbery, also known by the name of his street art company, So-Gnar, is one of those people.

It would be impressive enough if Milbery just painted murals all over Denver in an effort to enhance and beautify his surroundings, and that would certainly make him worthy of a feature in CULTURE and the attention of the locals. Add to that the fact that he designs snowboard, skateboard, and many other items, is a professional snowboarder himself, and runs summer camps for urban youth to get them interested in art and snowboarding, and you have Milbery, an all-around superhuman who would be quick to describe himself as just a regular guy.

“I think basically my art is just an extension of my creative thinking. It’s an extension of the utilization of the space that surrounds me,” Milbery stated. “I like to use my surroundings to add improvement and positivity, and a feel good vibe.” Milbery divides his time between touring the world as a professional snowboarder, running camps for kids who want to get involved with snowboarding, and pretty much painting everything he can get his hands on in the Denver area. He has painted murals on Buffalo Exchange Clothing, the Cheba Hut bus, 1-Up bar and venue on Colfax, worked on paint jobs for skate ramps, designer rainboots, and the interior of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, and created a giant memorial mural of Robin Williams with fellow artist Def3, just to highlight a few of his more interesting-sounding achievements.

Milbery has been making art since he was young, and has always had a flair for both creativity and extreme sports. “I just started enjoying arts and crafts as a little boy, and my dad is a huge project person so he’s big into woodworking, and is really hands-on and D.I.Y.,” Milbery told us. “I think with family support and having a lot of my dad’s tools around the house for me to mess around with, I just started trying it, like anything, and just really enjoying it. For my art, since I was a little kid, I doodle and sketch. Since I was young, I’ve been obsessed with snowboarding and the action sports culture. My past and present are very involved with more of a counterculture industry and mentality, and a lot of support from and for the underdogs. I have a lot of respect for that culture, and I’m inspired by the grunge era. I used to doodle tons of logos from my favorite snowboard and skate companies. I really like my art to be bright, with bright colors and a lot of life to it.”

The fact that Milbery also supports and even occasionally uses cannabis in addition to all his projects should be enough to singlehandedly dispel the notion that the beloved plant makes us lazy. “I feel like cannabis has for the most part had a positive effect on my life,” Milbery stated. “I actually haven’t smoked much in the last year or two, and the reason for it was, I was having some immune issues in my lungs. A friend of mine was my roommate at the time, and she is the author of a cannabis cookbook. She was trying to develop some cool edible recipes, to provide more of a diverse opportunity to apply cannabis to everyday life, and as a snowboarder, I can beat my body up pretty good, jumping off 30 foot parking garages, cliffs, and taking tons of hard knocks, so I tried some of her baking. Edibles were and have been a really nice way for me to avoid prescription drugs as well as pain pills that I know are really not good for my body or my liver. So, I’ve applied taking edibles a lot to my art of snowboarding and my mural art. Creatively, I think that it’s really important to keep an open mind and not get stuck in your ways or feel content with a style both in life and art. I think cannabis kept me pretty open minded as well as being a nice motivator.”

Milbery’s art has provided a ton of diversity, color and vibrancy, not only to the art scene in Denver, but to the very streets. Chances are, if you’ve taken a stroll around the city, you’ve caught sight of one of his pieces on the side of a building. Keep your eye out for the signature So-Gnar tag on street art to distinguish it as a work by Milbery and his team, and look out for announcements of art shows and new products in the near future.