Pop Art and Painted Denim: Meet Bridget Ahern

from The Gabber: February 25, 2021

Business Beats

By Abby Baker

Three years ago Bridget Ahern, a 31-year-old St. Petersburg-based artist, was living on a sailboat in the middle of New York’s Hudson River.

In 2021, she is creating digital, wearable and hangable art in a characteristically cartoon poppunk style. It’s female friendly, break-up art that grabs attention with bright colors and dark outlines.

“I just want to create things that are fun and full of inspiration,” Ahern said. “But what I make really depends on my mood, as you can see.”

Her canvases are 60s-inspired, full of pop art and one-liners; her “wearable art from the heart” is handcrafted with heavy influences from the female form.

“Everyone sees my work from a different lens,” Ahern said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m painting like a 6-year-old, but I feel seen and heard.”

Ahern has been creating in some way or another for the past decade, but things changed with her move back to the Sunshine State.

“I made it a point to always embroider or draw or something, but, I mean, we were two people on a cramped sailboat,” Ahern said. “When I came to Port Charlotte I had a huge patio; it was crazy all the space I had to make my art.”

Eventually, she was drawn to the pocket of the art world that is St. Petersburg and sold her work at The Indie Flea, a local artisan market.

“Living in St. Pete, it’s such a creative place; all of my peers are always evolving,” Ahern said. “The talent here is insane, and it’s really stoked my fire to keep on.”

Years later, she’s showing in local galleries, most recently for Lonely Fans Art Gallery at Coastal Creative in downtown St. Petersburg. She says she aims to appear in one local show a month.

“My friend and I were making, painting, and giving each other Christmas presents one year,” Ahern said. “I painted on a denim jacket for her, and she loved it.”

A score of thrift store finds later and Ahern’s wearable art brand was in business.

When a psychic informed her that her spirit animal is a crow, she dubbed her craft, “Old Crow,” and began monetizing her creations.

Find more at etsy.com/shop/ shopoldcrow or old_crow_ on Instagram.