For those of you who haven’t met David Santiago – an amazing Albuquerque artist – you might not know, he should also be a career comedian. Santiago, known for work inspired by “body language,” as he puts it, was recently commissioned to be Tractor Brewery’s exclusive “can artist.”

When I asked Santiago about what the opportunity meant to him, he said, “This is by far the coolest opportunity I’ve had as an artist – bringing the two things I love most in this world together: art and beer. Here here, David! Jokingly saying that he “peaked at beer can labels,” Santiago is a modest, humble, and incredible person; his work comes to life on the “canvas” which is commonly wooden – instead of your traditional clothes and other surfaces.

He sets himself aside in a number of ways, it is refreshing to see, that someone so talented can also be a quirky and energetic soul. He absolutely has to have energy. When asked about his process and the amount of time it takes to bring beauty to the things he touches, Santiago said, “I like to work on a lot of projects at once. It allows me to not get zoned in on one particular piece. With this way of working on pieces I can crank out maybe 3 to 4 works a week.”

The three incredible pieces he has recently put together for the hop heads that will consume Tractor brew, via the new can, are: Farmer’s Tan Red Ale, Milk Mustachio Stout, and the Almanac IPA. They are all three a little bit different, but recognizably lain to life via the tools of David.

David lent his descriptions of each piec: “Milk Mustachio Stout – Being a dark beer, we wanted to work around a grayscale color palette that would be similar to a milk label. This beer can features a hipster, Ray Ban-wearing girl, rocking a milk mustache.”

“Farmers Tan Red Ale – Being a Red Ale, we knew our color scheme. It’s designed around a redheaded pigtailed farmer after a long day on the job with a shoulder tan to prove it. She ponders with a blade of straw in her mouth as the sun sets behind her.”

“Almanac IPA – This can is my personal favorite! The colors and flowers are modeled after that of the old school Farmer’s Almanac covers. There are little hops sprouting all over this can and dangling from the ears of the Almanac Girl,” explained Santiago.

We are anxious to see what art is now the favorite of our patrons – not just which beer, we know the answer there – ALL THREE! We think that their opinion on the artwork will be the same; you can’t pick a favorite, only the artist can – at least we like to think so. Catch a can at a store near you, soon! Can’t wait? Come on down May 20th and shake David’s hand – meet the girls on the cans – and get an autograph from the artist himself – sounds like a plan to us!