Tyler Thomas is a taproom employee at Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond, VA. He’s also the featured artist on the labels of some of Hardywood’s biggest and most well-known beers: Trickery, Foolery, Ruse, and Cassowary.
I recently revisited Richmond and met up with Eric McKay, one of Hardywood’s co-founders. I interviewed these guys some years ago for my very first GBH piece. As we toured their growing cellar room, I noticed many of the shrink-wrapped pallets of 750ml bottles had distorted, human faces scribbled on them, all of which had Thomas’ distinctive look.
Ultimately, of course, the plastic will be ripped away and discarded, the markings forgotten. But that doesn’t deter Thomas’ urge to create—these unusual faces were all over, just around every corner.
—Cory Smith