Now , Greppi has a day job . He ’ s the Associate Creative Director at an advertising fi rm , Say It Loud !, where he completes specifi c graphic design jobs for individual clients . He serves the Orlando area , and you can see a prime example of his connection to Orlando with his poster for the 2015 Orlando City vs . Philadelphia Union soccer game . I haven ’ t seen something so powerful in a while — the image of a strong lion ’ s paw thrust down to the ground , wrapped in a measly snake , with a mix of printmaking elements and some painterly strokes . This image really stands out . Say It Loud ! won quite a few awards for their Orlando City Soccer inaugural season ad campaign . Personally , I think he ought to be making all the posters at that rate , and if I were comabove : Psalm 144 , illustration left : Memories of Ghosts With Black Hair , illustration
I had to wonder where he got the name DRES13 . He told me , “ The story of how I landed on DRES13 is pretty lame to be honest . During the early 2000s , I was involved in the whole car tuner scene , and my project car was a Nissan S13 240sx . During that time , I was posting photos of the project under the username DreS13 , and every so often I would post a current design project or illustration . Those posts began getting traction and I gained a small following based on the art . From then on , it stuck . I ’ ve continued to try and build the name into a brand for my illustration and design work .”
DRES13 , aka André Greppi , was born in Massachusetts , moved to Kissimmee at six years old , then to Orlando proper in 2006 . Now , he lives in Winter Garden with his wife and his fi rst child , with one on the way . I asked him what cool places he goes to around there , and he said , “ Target !” He seemed delighted to tell me about his son , who is taking after his dad : “ He loves to draw !” He keeps all of his son ’ s work , so maybe we ’ ll be featuring a Greppi Jr . in the future .
It has been quite a while since Greppi has been particularly active in the local art scene , but he tells me of years past , when he and a group
Orlando Arts & Culture , v . 2.1 of artists banded together as “ Phantom Limbs .” Together , they had shows happening just about every weekend . He told me about Neon Forest and the Falcon , which sounds like the title of a fairy tale . The Falcon is actually a bar and gallery on East Washington in Thornton Park , and Neon Forest was a gallery space on South Orange , but is now permanently closed .
pg 21 : Faith , illustration , pg 22 : Scurvy Squidbitch , illustration 20