THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502090208
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Glenn Jones calls them affordable art for the masses.
Many businesses make a tidy profit selling them on the side. You can wipe a paint brush on them, or wear them under a satin jacket. Jones and his partner, Mike Stokes, make their bread and butter producing them for area restaurants and pubs.
They design T-shirts, or communication on cloth.
Jones and Stokes operate Flying Fish T-Shirt Co. Inc. out of a plain gray metal building back in Colington. In the shotgun-style space where the mercury rises to near triple digits in the summer, they create and print designs that range from the historic to the humorous.
For years Stokes has been producing ``alligator'' T's for a local restaurant. He's drawn their mascot in various poses, including a pastel gator riding a killer wave on a hot-pink surfboard. It took him about 20 hours to finish the motif, drawn completely from his head.
``I'm not really a volume artist,'' Stokes said. ``It takes me longer to do things than some other people.''
The gator will be one of four he'll design for that customer this year. ``Every year there's a different gator shirt,'' he said. ``People return year after year. They get a different shirt every time.''
Currently, Flying Fish is gearing up for the summer onslaught, when they expect a tidal wave of requests. Each summer, Jones says, their production quadruples. The two graphic artists work closely with customers to come up with a saleable yet artistic idea.
It's a challenge, says Jones, getting it all to fit and still be visually pleasing. ``We try to pick the brains of people who own restaurants and bars, or present them with themes and ideas that are compatible with what they are presenting to the public,'' Jones said.
He applied a historical feel to a T-shirt graphic for a local eatery. The design features old-time firefighters and a wooden skiff pulled by racing horses across the beachfront.
Jones has held high-tech graphic art jobs in the competitive corporate world, both in the United States and abroad.
But he also brings a fine art educational background to Flying Fish, which gives his designs more than a souvenir-quality look.
There are two things to consider when creating a T-shirt design, Jones said: Advertisement and fashion. Too much information can ruin the visual appeal, he said. That's when Stokes and Jones use their artistic sides to convince the customer what works visually and what doesn't.
It's not easy bridging the two worlds.
``I feel a continuity with artists on the beach or anywhere,'' Jones said. ``As an artist you don't always feel that continuity with a business owner. They look at you as a commodity. They're not using it as a vehicle to communicate, but as a vehicle just to make money.
``That's why there are so many frustrated artists out there. You run into that big wall of indifference. People expect a design for a restaurant, not a childhood fantasy. The bottom line is if it doesn't sell, it's a failure. That's a hard thing for an artist to reconcile.''
Since Jones and Stokes work for themselves, they have more creative leeway than they would at a major corporation.
``The nice thing is if I don't want to do the design, I don't have to,'' Jones said. ``There are certain things I wouldn't do. I certainly wouldn't do art work for companies I feel are detrimental to the environment. I don't want to make them look good, even if it means a lucrative contract.''
Jones and Stokes are a good mix. Both are excellent draftsmen, but their tastes are varied enough to create a wide palette for customers to choose from. Jones has created Santa Fe-style motifs, ethnic designs and monster truck graphics.
Stokes, who's been living at the beach for seven years, enjoys working with sportfishing themes. He's created successful tackle shop, charter boat, tournament designs and much more.
After getting a taste of a fine art curriculum at Old Dominion University in the '80s, he decided to skip the schooling and go directly into the printing business. ``I knew I wanted to do screen printing,'' said Stokes.
On-the-job training at a Point Harbor shop gave Stokes the experience he needed to open Flying Fish. He's very pleased with the Flying Fish logo, powerful enough to bring in an unexpected customer.
Apparently, an angler or boater found a hat bearing the Flying Fish design floating out in the ocean. He tracked down the Colington shop to get another hat.
``I think that's funny, because we probably only did two dozen hats,'' Stokes said.
T-shirts are a hot commodity in a resort area. To Jones and Stokes, they're an art form.
``You're able to sell affordable art to people. It's like a dual purpose,'' Jones said. ``Not everybody can afford to buy pictures for the wall, but T-shirts, mass produced, allow us to choose the message that we want to wear.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
At the height of the summer, Mike Stokes, left, and Glenn Jones of
Flying Fish T-Shirt Co. Inc. work seven days a week.
by CNB