Menomonie resident Scott Bast has always loved to draw. As a young boy, he dreamed of being a comic book artist. Bast also loves the Green Bay Packers. Today, he combines his two passions into making Packers-related art. In 2016, he created an Instagram account to showcase his work.
That same year, Bast was contacted by Heaven Daniels, wife of then Packers player Mike Daniels. She was looking for a Christmas gift for her husband and asked to buy a drawing Bast had done of Daniels. After that, Daniels became a big fan of Bast's artwork. He purchased more of his artwork over the years and follows him on Instagram.
"During an interview on ESPN, I could see my artwork hanging on Mike Daniels' wall," noted Bast. "As a Packers fan, it has been very cool to connect with the players, have them take an interest in my artwork, and see my work get more attention."
From there, Bast continued to gain attention, and several Packers began following him on Instagram, including Aaron Jones and former Packer Jamaal Williams.
A couple of years ago, one of Bast's drawings generated a lot of notice on Twitter. He posted a picture on Instagram he'd made of Aaron Rodgers as a Jedi Knight. Rodgers used the picture in a tweet, and it was retweeted all over Twitter. Rodgers then created his own Instagram account and used the image for his profile picture.
"It was really exciting to see Rodgers use my drawing for his profile picture," said Bast. "I updated the picture last fall when Rodgers grew out his hair a bit, and he updated his profile picture to the new one."
You can also see Bast's artwork on the Packers subreddit site. Each week throughout the season, he posted drawings of two Packers players. Fans voted on the favorite, and the winning picture was sent to the Packers player.
"Reddit is another vehicle I use to connect with other fans and players," Bast said. "The subreddit has a great fan base and I would recommend any Packer fan to check it out."
Bast attended UW Stout for Studio Art. While he most of the art he currently produces is digital using Sketchbook Pro, his talent extends to all mediums from charcoal and graphite to oil painting. His house is filled with stunning pieces he's done over the years.
Bast's artwork is available for purchase here on Red Bubble. In addition to wall art, several other formats for his artwork are available, including t-shirts, stickers, and phone cases.
You can follow Scott on Instagram at majkowski7.
