Adrian Scott; a graphic design created by Adrian Scott (contributed)
In this creative weekly series, local author, artist and all-around entertaining and eccentric (not to mention classy!) Southern gentleman Ben Johnson South introduces Cullman Tribune readers to the creative thinkers and doers in the Cullman community.
“10 Things from a Tribune Tastemaker”
This week, meet Adrian “Quickdraw” Scott, graphic designer and artist
Adrian Scott is quick with a thousand ideas, quick with a smile and a laugh, quick-witted, quickly sprinted his way to college on a track scholarship and is a “quick draw” sketch artist like a caffeine-fueled Walt Disney. That’s why I’ve rebranded this top, graphic/commercial artist and branding guru, Adrian Prentiss Scott, “Quickdraw.”
For this TASTEMAKER article, we talked about his early roots. He grew up in Mobile and was born before the famous “ADRIAN!!” of the “Rocky” movies. “My mom told me, she just liked the name. I didn’t even know the ‘Rocky’ reference until kids on the playground started yelling it. Now, my Wallace State students who dig 1980s-era pop culture yell it across the campus parking lot. ‘ADRIAN!!’”
Except for about five years when he was pursuing his art education degree in Kentucky, Adrian (aka Quickdraw) has studied, lived, created and worked in Cullman since 1988.
Here are 10 QUICK THINGS FROM THIS TRIBUNE TASTEMAKER:
- “SURE! SURE!”—his quick, double-positive, sincere affirmation, two words he uses often and his signature catch-phrase
- HIKING—a favorite Cullman pastime, particularly along the Mulberry in Garden City, Welcome Falls in Fairview and Welti Falls in Welti
- CREATIVE DESIGN AND SCREENPRINTING (Hanceville), AMERICAN CLASSICS/SLINGSHOT (Hanceville) both do fresh graphic design and artisan-quality products
- KATE TEMPEST, RUN THE JEWELS, 80s hair band CINDERELLA—are on repeat in his art studio joining perennial faves TALKING HEADS, OUTKAST, U2 and Sinead O’Conner
- CLICK OFF—a weird, insider term used by graphic designers meaning to “click off” and deselect an image using vector layout software
- TENACITY, FLEXIBILITY, INITIATIVE, CREATIVITY—professional traits he hopes to inspire in his graphic design students
- MORE VIDEO AND FILM PRODUCTION—what he envisions for future art and design students at Wallace State
- NATIONAL GALLERY (London, England)—a favorite museum he’s visited, but he’s equally pleased to view grade-school doodles stuck on a fridge with magnets
- BLAYNE and PAYTON—a proud accomplishment on which he creatively collaborated (his kids)
- COSPLAY CULTURE, ANIME, COMIC BOOKS—graphic art he encourages the Burrow Museum to share with Alabama
Scott is also quick to share his passion for creative collaboration.
“I thrive on collaboration which allows me to see beyond the limits of my own design sensibilities and optimally integrate the vision of my client/collaborator. Even in the initial meeting where we’re discussing details and timelines, I sketch and scribble ideas and thumbnail quick layout possibilities. This allows me to diagram the design objectives and suggest some possible creative solutions. Next, I share my scrawled drawings with my client/collaborator to see if my designs are on target. Finally, after the design concepts are agreed on, I transition to graphic layout software and hopefully finesse through to a mutually satisfying design solution. FINI!”
Before he shared a quick, holiday greeting of “Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas,” Scott shared his motto, “ars longa, vita brevis.” (Life is short. Art is long.)
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