Waterloo Brewing Collaborates with Ottawa Based Artist

Waterloo Brewing is excited to announce the new hibiscus cherry limeade sour, called Hummingbird, brewed in collaboration with Waterloo Brewing employee and artist Nick Glynn. This new beer, only available on tap at the Waterloo Brewing Taphouse is being released alongside Glynn’s custom Hummingbird Growler.

Glynn has been a part of the Waterloo Brewing team in various capacities for 12 years now – before Waterloo Brewing was even known as Waterloo Brewing. He started as a bartender and member of the events team while he was studying at Wilfrid Laurier University. After graduating, Glynn took a break to travel to Australia, but when he returned, a job was waiting for him at Waterloo Brewing.

Glynn has always been around visual art. “I come from a family of artists,” he said. “My dad was an animator and then my brother followed in his footsteps and is also an animator.”

Glynn, however, was never really interested in the visual arts. His focus was more so on acting and music. However, when he was 23, he discovered Jean-Michel Basquiat and America neo-expressionist artist that was active in the ‘80s. With the support and guidance of his brother and father, as well as newfound love of Basquiat, Glynn learned that art didn’t have limitations. He learned that art is subjective; art can be anything.

“From that day, I started painting. It’s funny – I always really rejected the idea of being an artist, because of my dad and my brother. But when I saw it from a different angle, I really started to embrace it. I took off and never stopped,” he said.

Glynn knew that if he wanted to be a serious artist, he would have to keep painting, keep practicing and really focus on his style and technique. When he moved to Australia after university, he completed a series of 10 paintings he called The Aussie 10 that he brought back with him when he returned home.

Glynn calls himself a stencil artist. His work involves layering stencils over each other and then using spray paint to create captivating layered images on wood grain canvases. He describes his style as blending realism, pop art and graffiti.

“My more popular work involves spray paint and stencils,” he said. “I build stencils on Photoshop. I’ll take an image and break it down into a couple layers. I blend different types of spray paint colours together to give it a 3D and more realistic look. I like to play with really bold, bright colours.”

Glynn does a lot of commission work, but he’s also done large scale murals, including the large murals in the Waterloo Brewing Taphouse. He’s also done murals for some of his licensees in the Ottawa area. Glynn noted how his job at Waterloo Brewing often works in tandem with his artistic side projects. The two have found a way to complement each other.

“What I love about my brewery is they’ve been so supportive,” he said. “Those fears that you have about your company supporting you, I mean, they’ve gone above and beyond.”

Come to the Waterloo Brewing Taphouse to try Hummingbird on tap, or take it home with one of our Hummingbird Growlers, designed by Glynn himself.

For more information about Nick Gylnn and his art, follow him on Instagram @glynn.art.