Mountain Dew found inspiration from artists, whom they gave an aluminum canvas—a 16 oz. bottle—to create their new expressions of Dew. Their stencils, mixed media, graffiti, paintings and drawings made illustrations for a limited-edition 2007 Dew bottle series we call Green Label Art. Out of the 12-can series, two are on display: Mark Nardelli’s “Pop Art Pirate” (white bottle) and Chuck Anderson’s “Just Like Snowflakes” (green bottle).

Mark Nardelli, or Nards as he’s been known in the skateboard scene since the early 1990s, is the lead designer for 5Boro Skateboards. Like the city itself, he never seems to sleep—his lights and laptop are on 24/7. What impressed Dew about Nards was his decidedly handmade aesthetic. For 5Boro and in his personal work, Nards uses letterpress type, gritty imperfect textures and references that have a crude character. Much of his inspiration has been derived form 1960s rock and protest posters that communicate with bold statements and color. Dew identified with Nards because of his irreverent artistic approach.

Pop Art Pirate was inspired from 1960s antiwar posters, mixing crudely cut stencil type with iconic images, including a Dew bottle for the nose of the skull. The eye patch and the Pirates baseball hat were traits taken form 5Boro pro rider Dan Pensyl.

Chuck Anderson’s creative approach is just as appealing to Dew as his artwork for this project. “Almost everything I do is unscripted,” he explains. “There are rarely mock-ups or pencil drawings or sketches. I get my hands dirty right away. I just get right into it.” Chuck’s style ranges from surrealistic kaleidoscopic skyscapes to ornate, handcrafted illustrations. Chuck boasts an impressive client list including Triple Five Soul and Nylon, as well as Lupe Fiasco’s album cover. “My bottle illustration was inspired by the highs and lows everyone goes through during the course of regular day, with the intense colors intended to bring fun and life to an otherwise chaotic and confusing world.”