Graphic designer aims for 'arresting' artwork

Whitefish has been good to Pete Thomas.

The town that has given him a quality of life that includes plenty of outdoor recreation and a small-town neighborly atmosphere also has provided a wealth of artistic inspiration.

Thomas currently works as a senior designer for ZaneRay Group in Whitefish, creating artwork for websites of national and local firms. Some of Thomas’ work can be seen on websites for the Horny Toad active clothing line, for Filson clothing and accessories, and Nixon watches.

But locally, he might be more recognized for his artwork with his “moonlighting” business, Pete Thomas Creative.

Thomas’ four-poster Whitefish heritage series, created as a collaboration with Stumptown Historical Society for the Whitefish centennial celebration in 2005, has become a local mainstay and also received national recognition.

The series, capturing four quintessential themes from Whitefish’s heritage — the ski culture, the railroad, downtown and golfing — was featured in a highly respected design publication, Graphis, in the 2005 poster annual.

“It exhibited the work of the world’s best poster artists,” Thomas said. “My series was chosen from a highly competitive field.”

Thomas, 39, often will see his poster series hung on walls in local establishments, something he believes reflects the pride Whitefish residents take in their town as well as a fondness for his artwork.

“People have a respect for the culture and community here,” Thomas said. “My artwork reflects some of those reasons that people live here. And tourists can take a piece of the culture and scenery back with them.”

Thomas’ poster art will receive an even wider viewing with his new Glacier National Park centennial commemorative poster of a mountain goat standing in silhouette against a sweeping view of park mountains. Thomas also hopes to gain more visibility during this centennial year for his earlier Birdwoman Falls poster.

The Glacier Centennial committee solicited entries for a number of art categories, and Thomas entered his art poster as part of the graphic design category. His poster was one of two chosen to become officially licensed centennial artwork.

The Glacier posters are influenced, as is much of Thomas’ poster artwork, by a bit of a vintage style. He wants his work to be trend-free and timeless, something that could have been created 80 years ago as well as today and continue to be relevant in the future.

“One of my objectives is to first kind of arrest people,” he said. “I want to create art that has an immediate visual impact and stops someone.

“Secondly, I want it created in a way where there is a well-thought-out relationship between colors, shapes and compositions, with underlying relationships among them that isn’t noticeable at first glance.”

Thomas said he’s highly influenced by color wood-block artists such as Gustave Baumann and contemporary artist Michael Schwab.

He knows, though, that he can’t stick with just one style.

“You have to be constantly reinventing yourself, and not be afraid to take risks and experiment with new styles and ways to express yourself,” he said.

Thomas has followed his own advice throughout his career, trying out numerous art-related projects and businesses, and in his ever-changing active lifestyle.

After growing up in Littleton, Colo., Thomas started his art career by studying the creative side of advertising with a graphic arts emphasis at Loyola University in Baltimore. It wasn’t long before he moved back to Colorado to life the life of a “quasi-ski bum” in Winter Park, where he mixed his interest in the outdoors and skiing with graphic design.

In his connections with the ski industry, he worked in retail, was art director for an outdoor magazine and two publications out of Vail, and did freelance work. Thomas’ ski connections have lasted to this day — as someone who once tested ski products and as a sponsored athlete, he currently is working on visual design for a series for skis for Head. 

He moved to Whitefish in 1996, following his brother, Joe, who since has moved to Alaska.

His family connections have become broad here, with his parents and another brother, Tim, and two sisters, Merrilee and Shanika, also later moving to the area. (Thomas’ wife, Allison, is a carpenter by trade with North Country Builders, and they have two girls — Eva, 8 months, and Francesca, 2.)

When Thomas first arrived in the Flathead Valley, he worked at Snowfrog ski shop, then after doing some freelance design work, started a company called Art Folk design with Dave

 Olseth. The company dissolved before Olseth died in a biking accident.

From there, Thomas started working for CenturyTel and moved into Web design through the company’s Web solutions group around 2000.

He left CenturyTel and opened an Internet design group with Seth Schnebel. Wellspring Studios was a full-service design and Web consulting business until, around 2004, Schnebel left the business.

Thomas then opened his one-person design group, Pete Thomas Creative, focusing on branding and illustration. He joined the ZaneRay Group in 2006.

At ZaneRay, Thomas said he finds satisfaction in the collaborative problem solving necessary to the work environment.

“I work with extremely talented, interesting and some might say eccentric co-workers,” Thomas said.

Thomas has also enjoyed doing his part to promote the local art scene, and for years designed posters for Whitefish Theatre Company and other arts-related events.

And he’s found a focus on corporate identity, or logo, work for local and national firms. His local logos include The White Room Mountain Shop in Whitefish, The Meadows development and Tupelo Grille in Whitefish.

His commercial work has been his financial foundation, but he feels his poster work is his best chance to create an artistic legacy.

“When you produce a poster, it sticks around for years,” he said. “You have that opportunity to arrest a viewer, to have an impact.”

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.