I've been designing my whole life, and over the past few years, I've been working hard to combine my skills in design and development into this website. A big goal for me is to turn this from a side hustle into a full-time job—something I've built with my own hands. Like many professional designers and artists will tell you, working in the industry isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Many of us dream of working for ourselves, in a place that aligns with our passions.
That's why when I come across someone who's managed to do exactly that, I stop and pay attention. How did they get here? How did they start? What keeps them going? These are the questions that run through my mind.
I first stumbled upon Dean Liebau's work a few years ago—if I remember correctly, it was on the Bikepacking 101 pages of Bikepacking.com. From there, I followed the trail down the rabbit hole to discover the person behind the art. I was immediately drawn to Dean's grounded and down-to-earth style, and I've been following his journey ever since.
Let's go...
What sparked your passion for the outdoors and creation early on?
I was fortunate enough to grow up with nature surrounding me. No, it wasn't the Alaskan frontier or amongst the old growth of BC but in the suburbs of Erie, Pennsylvania and it was enough to set me down the path of dedicating my life to exploring all of the amazing nature in my own backyard. At the time, it meant squadding up with the neighborhood gang and riding our bikes through the fragmented expanses of forest and gravel pits. Most of these areas were considered to be private property and would usually result in us getting chased out by the adults. After long days of running, climbing and swimming; I would close myself in my room and just draw; fueled by the inspiration of the day. My process doesn't look much different these days, just maybe getting chased by adults less.
Can you share the moment bikepacking entered your life?
I found myself going further and further on my day rides; always getting my adventures cut short by the waning daylight. As I was beginning to understand what I should bring on larger rides, such as extra layers, basic tools for any mechanicals and extra food; it became apparent that I needed more space on my bike. I was a distant observer of bikepacking and knew that it existed, so this seemed like an appropriate time to invest in some thoughtful bags and a larger platform bike to facilitate more storage capacity. It wasn't until the pandemic that I went all in. With not much else to occupy my time and a few stimulus checks to blow, I dove head-first into something that I had an interest in and totally changed my life's trajectory.
Since then, I've practically explored the entire state of Vermont with my wife, who is equally as obsessed with bikepacking. We load our schedules up with weekend overnighters, “big dumb” multi-day bike rides and host Bikepacking 101 social get togethers at our local shop. It has become a huge part of my life in the best way.
Could you walk us through your process—from outdoors to art?
As far as commissioned client work is concerned, I am working mostly digitally. We live in a fast-paced world and everything needs to be done yesterday. Luckily, I find that digital tools such as Adobe Fresco and Procreate have progressed enough to blend the two worlds of analog and digital nicely. Working digitally allows me to focus more on concept and composition rather than the physical medium which is important when you're trying to meet a deadline.
My connection to nature has always been my grounding force and I try to make work that reflects that.
My process is constantly changing depending on what style I want to work in. Over my creative career, I've become more accepting of my lack of consistent style and now I can see it as my strength. My ability to change from one thing to the next is fueled by my curiosity of my source material and broad fine arts background. The throughline is that much of my work is driven by my profound connection to the outdoors, which serves as my primary inspiration. My connection to nature has always been my grounding force and I try to make work that reflects that.
Outside of art and cycling, where do you find your inspiration?
Skateboarding and snowboarding was a gateway to my exploration into creativity. It was responsible for how I dressed, what music I listened to and it's what prompted me to go to school for graphic design. I'm still heavily influenced by that culture and have noticed it being ever more present in the cycling world. All of the homies that used to hit me up to skate are now asking me about bikes. I'm not sure if the bike industry is learning how to shift its marketing strategy to capture that audience or if it's because we're getting old; either way, I'm here for it!
What strategies do you do to overcome creative blocks?
Putting the work down and finding the answers elsewhere. As easy as it is to say, it's harder to do in practice. Although I feel a sense of guilt everytime I push work to the side and reach for my bike, I've come to realize that the “eureka” moment can't be forced. Rather than drooling in front of a blank screen, I could be outside having some fun and maybe stumble across a great idea while I'm at it.
How do you integrate your work into bike travels?
This really is the million-dollar question. My practice is an ever-evolving one and working out of my home in Vermont, where I'm surrounded by seemingly endless gravel has kept me occupied. But it's a big world out there and there is a lot to be explored. I've been pretty locked down with balancing my freelance with my full time job as a screenprinter. My near-term goal is to take that leap into full time freelance; while I may have a home base in Vermont, I could do much of my work on the road, so it would allow me the freedom to see and ride the places that I've always wanted to. The bikepacking, cycling, gravel (what are we calling it?!) community has really been coming through in a big way for me, which has made that dream closer to a reality.
Any dream projects or collaborations you're aiming for?
I can appreciate when a brand recognizes the power of art and can leverage it to tell a great story, tie it into a big campaign or carry a powerful message. I loved working with Kona on their 'Draw My Kona' campaign; where people who followed them on their socials would submit a photo of their bikepacking bike for a chance for me to draw them. Kona would post a new one every month and it would stoke people out to see their bikes drawn on the Kona account. It ended up connecting me with people from all over the world; which speaks wonders to the power of art. That campaign was a dream for me. I conceptualized it and Kona just gave me the green light and platform to execute. Working on more campaigns that allow for fun and freedom with brands that I really admire is something that I am really pushing for.
What about bikepacking culture excites you the most?
The growth of bikepacking is very exciting to me. An expanded audience means more resources to pull from and the wealth of knowledge shared amongst this growing community makes it seem possible to bikepack anywhere in the world at this point. I am fortunate to live in a place that is a bikepacking destination, so I am constantly immersed in it. The bikepacking community draws in the most ambitious, curious people that want to see the world for what it actually is and not just what they're told it is. I'm lucky to have found it and I credit it for shaping me into a positive force in the world, I think it's doing that for others too.
Are you open for commissions? If so, how does that work?
I get asked to draw personal commissions of peoples bikes or pets a lot and I've done them in the past but still struggle to find a good workflow to make it worthwhile. I find that the amount of time I would need to dedicate to a single commission is too much to make it a feasible business and I would personally rather use that time to work on something that would be more impactful to a larger audience. I do consider myself a graphic designer, so utilizing those skills and incorporating them with illustration allows me to focus much of my work with brands, musicians, organizations etc. That being said, if anybody out there has something really wild for me to draw, don't be afraid to reach out!
Thanks, Dean.
Get more Dean on Instagram and see more work on his site.
