2023 FEATURED ARTIST | BLAKE GORE

In 2005, the Double Decker Arts Festival began choosing, from many submissions, a piece of artwork to be printed on T-shirts, posters and signs. It would be considered the official art for that year. It’s now a tradition that’s been continued annually since that initial year.

The 2023 featured artist is no stranger to Mississippi or to Double Decker. Though he now lives in Virginia, Blake Gore grew up in Houston, Mississippi; attended Tupelo High School; and met his wife, Lori, while he was studying English and political science at Ole Miss.

The 42-year-old did not become a creator of art until 2017, when he accepted a Twitter challenge to produce and share a 1-inch-by-1-inch drawing daily for a month. He figured he could do anything for a month, and he did. People noticed and wanted to purchase his tiny drawings, which was a big surprise to Gore.

When he created his submission for the Double Decker poster, Gore stepped outside his typical style.

“Miniatures don’t make for effective posters,” he said. “So, I stepped outside my typical style. It’s actually one of the very few times I’ve drawn anything other than miniatures, but being a part of Double Decker is too much of an honor to miss.”

Gore originally drew the poster art in miniature before converting it to poster size. He chose a mosaic style for the poster because he said he imagines Double Decker as a wonderful collection of culture coming together on the Oxford Square.

“Like the pieces in a mosaic, each artist and musician is unique and brings something special to the festival,” he said.

The father of four has been producing art ever since his monthlong challenge, still small and usually done with a .15mm pen nib. His first time to show and sell his art at Double Decker was in 2019. Though he now does about 20 to 30 art shows a year across the United States, his favorite is Double Decker.

“When I heard my art had been selected, it was hard for me to really believe,” Gore said. “Throughout the years, I’ve collected various T-shirts and posters from the festival, so it was pretty surreal imagining my own work on those. This art journey has been a wild and unexpected ride, and it’s fun to see things come full circle back to Double Decker where I first showed my work.”