SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane’s annual Hoopfest is approaching, and this year, we are highlighting two young, talented artists that have made an effort to highlight the beauty of the city that hosts the event each year.
Meet Joshua Thomas, who is no stranger to having his artwork featured at Hoopfest.
He’s designed team and championship shirts, but this is the first time his art is featured on a backboard.
It’s also his first time having his logo on the Hoopfest ball, which means even more to him because of how huge basketball has been in his life.
Thomas played Hoopfest all the time as a kid but took several years off as he got serious about playing in high school, and eventually in college, where he played three years at Eastern as a walk-on.
Now he gets the best of both worlds.
“Anybody that has a passion or a hobby or something that they like to do at a high level,” said Thomas. “Being able to combine and have those overlap points with anything is incredible. That’s where you want to be. That’s the stuff you want to work on. Stuff that you use.”
Suffice to say, Thomas will walk over after his competitive-league games to check out his artwork on two different backboards.
Twelve-year-old Hadley Landreth is the other local artist who says she has been making masterpieces since she can remember.
When she found out about this contest a few months ago, she wanted to come up with a cool way to appreciate Spokane and Washington as a whole, so she chose to draw the state fish of Washington, a steelhead, in front of Spokane Falls in Riverfront Park.
When Landreth’s artwork was selected, let’s just say she was pretty pumped.
“I am very excited,” said Landreth. “The next day I went back and told everybody at school. I was so excited..”
This year there will be 13 different backboards drawn by 12 local artists.
Tyler (Bug) LarsonRyan BarbieriMadeleine LeahyElsie KingEvalyn SambranoAshley GrantMadelyn JacksonRachel DolleHadley LandrethRyann EngelEmma SchislerJoshua Thomas
Congratulations to all the winners!
