Once upon a time in Osterville – the 90s to be exact – there was a band
of skateboarding, music and film making, creative, artistic, and only slightly naughty teenagers. They bonded through their mutual passions, becoming lifelong friends. (My son Neil was one of them.) Since their base of operations was the childhood homes on Osterville’s Parker Road of two of its members, they were dubbed by one of their moms as the Parker Road Gang.
They were obsessed with alt-rock and punk bands like Jesus Lizard, Shellac, the Melvins. They created their own movies, music, and art together just for fun. And they never stopped supporting, promoting, and celebrating each other’s achievements. Three of this band of wildly talented brothers are visual artists who have found national and international success.
Their styles and mediums are diverse; but the roots of their edgy, creative work reach back to their time together in the Parker Road neighborhood of Osterville.
Scott Buoncristiano, Illustrator
Buoncristiano is a freelance illustrator and comic book artist. His clients include Warner Brothers, Sony, Columbia Pictures, Focus Features, Hasbro, Simon & Schuster, Boom Studios, and Image Comics. His illustrations appear in multiple Harry Potter books, and dozens of beer labels from various breweries. He has also created tour posters for bands like Mastodon and the Melvins. His work has been exhibited in galleries in New York and Los Angeles. He’s co-creator and artist of the original graphic novel The Dark Room from Image Comics. Scott lives and works in Centerville.
Scott says he brings those early Parker Road influences to his work. “In music and skateboarding and all that we were into back then, there seemed to be a lot of eye-catching designs that had a ‘cool factor’ to them. Skulls, bright and crazy color palettes, bizarre/surreal album artwork, strange character designs,” Scott explains. “When I’m designing or finishing a piece now, the thought that’s always in the back of my head is ‘Do I think this is cool? Would the (Parker Road) guys think this is cool? Would a crazy
group of high school kids think this is cool?’ That’s all kind of my barometer on if I’m going in the right direction or not.”
Scott’s artistic career really took off in 2016, at, as he describes, “the tender young age of 38.” He explains, “I had been taking small illustration jobs on the side here and there for a couple of years before that, but in 2016 the job offers became frequent enough that I made the leap of faith and went freelance full time.”
Today, he’s a busy and sought-after illustrator. The Dark Room, a graphic novel that he has been work- ing on for the past few years, is a particular source of pride. “It was an immense workload,” he explains.
“Sequential storytelling is easily the most
challenging area of illustration I’ve ever
worked in. I collaborated with a wonderful
writer/co-creator who really allowed me to
play to my strengths while learning on the job,
and I’m extremely proud of what we did.” His
collaborator was veteran comic book writer
Gerry Duggan, who has written hits such as
Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Savage
Avengers; he is the current writer of X-Men for
Marvel comics. “I hope to do more work related
to the comic book industry because that’s really
what I like doing,” Scott adds. The Dark Room
will be available in June. It can be pre-ordered at your local comic book shop or independent bookstore or via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a- Million, and Indigo.
See more of Scott Buoncristiano’s work at www.scottbuon.com or on Instagram: @scottbuon.
Richard Colman, Contemporary Fine Artist
Richard Colman paints vivid, hard-edged figurative canvases that combine biomorphic and floral shapes with graphic geometries. These pieces oscillate between abstract compositions and recognizable domestic scenes. They often embrace sexual imagery and themes of life, death, human interaction, and isolation. Women, animals, floating heads, and overlapping bodies are common motifs.
Colman also produces sculpture and installation works incorporating a variety of media, including paper, wood, porcelain, plaster, glue, nails, and tape – typically using vibrant colors. His installations have taken the form of elaborate, psychedelic floor designs and theatrical stages constructed within the gallery. Colman has exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Copenhagen, Mexico City, London, and Paris. Richard currently lives and works in San Francisco and on a farm converted to a large-scale studio in rural Connecticut.
ichard, like Scott, credits his early days as part of the Parker Road gang for putting him on the path to his current success. “When I think of what has been most influential to my life as an artist, I always return to this core group of friends,” he says. “I think about us as kids, sitting around one of our kitchen tables drawing or making videos or music and I think about being in awe of each and every one of them.” He adds, “I always wanted to be as creative as they were and as funny and smart as they were. They are all still a constant source of inspiration. I feel so lucky to have been around such immensely talented and funny people.”
When did Richard know his future as a full-time artist was more than a dream? “I didn’t know until it started happening. I had gone to art school thinking of it more as vocational training,” he explains. “I thought I could become a better draftsman and maybe be a graphic designer or illustrator. But in school I was immersed in a world of very creative people making amazing things – and exposed to things I had never seen or considered before.”
These influences changed his thinking and inspired him to pursue his passion for creating art for art’s sake. “It was very exciting,” he recalls. “Coincidentally, friends of mine were starting to put together little art shows in bars and small galleries. I was asked to contribute to some of those and it has just kept going from there.”
The challenge of creating never gets easy for Richard. But there’s nothing he’d rather be doing. “No painting or sculpture or any of it is ever 100 percent successful,” he muses. “But within each work or project there are moments that I feel are successful, and those moments are what push me into the next works. I am already thinking of the next things I want to make and how I can expand on what I am currently making. So, I’m just looking forward to making, and being able to keep moving forward.”
See more of Richard’s work at www.richardcolmanart.com or on Instagram: @arecolman.
Dan McCarthy, Screen Print Artist
Dan McCarthy is an artist based in Massachusetts who works predominantly in the medium of screen printing, pen and ink illustration and mixed media painting. He studied drawing and printmaking at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated in 1999 with a focus
in screen printing. He has had solo shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. McCarthy’s artwork often focuses on quiet landscapes with a subtle narrative, and the cyclical nature between life and death. He lives and works in Falmouth.
Dan credits his family for his earliest interest in art. “Drawing and making art for me started when I was really young,” he says. “The home I grew up in was a very creative environment where both my parents embraced and encouraged any form of creativity. My older brother, sister and I were always drawing, painting, and learning how to play instruments.”
Skateboarding in the mid 80’s, following in his older brother’s footsteps, was another turning point in his creative journey. “I credit skateboarding with opening up my mind to a whole new world of music and art,” he says. “When you become a skate rat, you aren’t just rolling around the streets. You become part of a club that has its own form of music and art. I loved the skateboard graphics of the 80’s and they definitely inspired me and sparked my interest in screen printing.”
The Parker Road gang evolved as Dan and others found each other over the years through their mutual passions. “By the time we were all teenagers, we were all fully involved in making music and art,” he reminisces. “We didn’t really think about why or what kind of career it could lead to, we just loved being creative.”
Hoth by Dan McCarthy
It was later that Dan realized he could make a living doing what he loved. “When I graduated art school in 1999, I was living in Boston, playing
in bands, and started making screen printed posters for shows we were playing,” he reminisces. “Around that time, the internet was starting to become a part of everyone’s daily life. There was a website, gigposters.com. It was a giant interna- tional collection of artists who would post their work to share with the world.”
PARKER ROAD GANG
Avenue of Giants
This early art site became Dan’s inspiration for his own business. “That was a starting point for me and getting my art out in the world. Eventually, it led to me getting commission work for other bands, and I started making
a little money. Around 2004, I thought it would be a fun challenge to design and print one art print per month for one year, and offer an annual subscription service to my collectors,” he explains. The Dan McCarthy Print Club was born. “It started with just a few subscribers, but having their support, really pushed me to get the work done,” he says. “It grew year after year and eventually became my full-time job. It’s crazy to think that I’ve been doing it for almost 18 years!”
Along the way, there have also been exciting and reward- ing commissions. “I think my favorite project has to be the poster I made for Star Wars from 2010,” he recalls. “It was for a company called Mondo. They were one of the first to curate and sell officially licensed movie posters. When they asked me to do it, my mind exploded. Star Wars was huge for me as a kid (and now) and I was really excited to do it.” That led to other major poster projects. “I also made E.T. and Jurassic Park posters,” he adds.
What’s next for Dan? “For 2022, I am excited to switch
things up a bit and focus some time on creating a graphic novel,” he muses. “I’ve been working on this idea for a few years and it’s going to be a new challenge, but I’m looking forward to getting it done.”
What’s the most rewarding thing about being an independent artist? “Just being able to live my life doing something I love to do,” he comments. “I have 3 kids and it makes me happy to think that they see me working and know that it’s possible to make a career out of something you love.”
See more of Dan’s work at www.DanMcCarthy.org or on Instagram: @dandanmccarthy
Richard, Scott, and Dan, as well as the others in the original gang, still stay in touch via a multi- year text thread, holiday and summer vacation visits, and occasional camping trips; and they support each other through professional and personal triumphs and tragedies. The bond among this chosen family of former Osterville “skate rats” is unbreakable.
“We didn’t really think about why or what kind of career it could lead to, we just loved being creative.”
– Dan McCarthy
“Osterville will always be a special place to me,” says Scott. “The older I get, the more I realize how rare it is that a group of friends from as early as elementary school still hang out together well into their 40s.”
Dan concurs. “That time in my life is something I always think about, and it definitely keeps me motivated and inspired.”
Richard agrees. “Osterville and my friends from the Cape ground me. I have spent most of my life moving around and living in other places and when I think of Osterville and this special group of people, I think of home and family,” he says. “I know that no matter what happens, I will always have these people in my life. That is a very powerful thing, and it keeps me motivated and grateful every day.”
All images in this article are courtesy of the artists.
Claudia Mahoney
Comments