Tuthilltown Spirits – Silo Art Project

Joe Meloy and I headed to upstate New York on July 8th and met with Ryan Cronin for a special silo art project at Tuthilltown Spirits. Each of us had a silo to create on. Hudson Whiskey | Tuthilltown Spirits is a family run farm distillery using rye, corn and apples from local farmers to produce their whiskey, gin and apple vodka.

“From grain to glass, we take great care and pride in all of our spirits. We’ve captured local flavor and ambiance using the agricultural resources of local farmers while leaving a smaller footprint on the environment.” –from the HudsonWhiskey.com

We were selected out of a group of artists and were recommended to the owners son, Gable Erenzo, by Gabi Porter (add link). Gable and his wife, Kathy, are super people. They were very gracious, welcoming and hospitable, giving Joe and I a place to stay. They wanted to beautify their distillery with murals on their silo’s instead of leaving it the cold lifeless look of metal.

For my piece I wanted to incorporate what the distillery is about, environment and nature. I did the old mill, the Shawangunk Kill River, the cliffs, hills, nature scenes, a cat on a whiskey barrel and the purple flowers that grow around their distillery. I also added the grafstract, pure abstract expressionism on the side of the silo that met Joe Meloy’s silo. He was painting corn, barley, apples and included water in his abstracted approach to his subject matter. Ryan Cronin was busy stenciling a ducks flying in a repetitious pattern around the diameter of his silo.

This silo was a challenge, 17 feet high by 60 feet in diameter, but I enjoyed it greatly. Painting on a silo has a different communication than on a flat surface wall, and the silo is corrugated. Of course we had to battle the elements of hot, sweaty time and the wasps nests, but it was fun illustrating in a care free manner. We were surrounded by an open field and trees all around us…the sounds of nature filled the air. This was a special and unique event.