Watch Paul Kobriger Create His Photorealistic Jeff Grosso Piece For Vans
Jeff Grosso, the reliably outspoken skate critic and historian, passed away in his home last March at 51 years old. Grosso began his career in the ’80s, skating for brands Santa Cruz and Black Label. More recently, he’d been the host of Vans‘ ‘Loveletters To Skateboarding’ which had completed ten seasons, each one more compelling than the last. In honor of the anniversary of Grosso’s death, Vans’ Steve Van Doren commissioned artist—and former Transworld Marketing Director—Paul Kobriger to create a piece using one of Joe Brook’s photos of Grosso; the work’s forever home will be at Vans HQ’s ‘Grosso Room’.
Kobriger is a master of photorealistic ballpoint pen portraits. His flawless artwork highlights figures in the worlds of skateboard and rock n’ roll culture, using reference photos to get every detail just right. Even the most discerning eye would be hardpressed to distinguish the original photo from Kobriger’s hand-drawn facsimile. Kobriger’s amazing Grosso piece, like the rest of his portfolio, is straight-up amazing. Watch his process in Vans’ ‘Grosso Forever’ video, above.
Grosso in Santa Cruz’s 1989 Streets On Fire.
RIP Jeff Grosso: 1968-2020.
