FITCHBURG MAN’S PATRIOTS POSTER PICKED FOR SERIES
FITCHBURG >> Itwas a touchdown for artist and city native Jon Allen when he received the news that the image he designed was going to be part of this season’s New England Patriots Gameday Poster Series.
“I have been a Patriots and New England sports fan my whole life, so the opportunity to work with the Patriots was really surreal and amazing,” the Fitchburg native said. “At first, I thought it was just a promotional email for Patriots merch, but then I kept reading and I realized it was for the poster design call. Naturally, I was super thrilled.”
According to a press release, for each home game of the 2023 season the Patriots tapped nine local artists throughout New England for their new Gameday Poster Series. The artists were chosen from a pool of more than 250 applicants, ranging drastically in age and professional experience.
The only real criterion was that the artists had to live in New England. Minimal direction was given by the Patriots, allowing the artists quite a bit of creative freedom. They decided how to illustrate the overall look and the team offered minor edits before completion.
Allen heard about the oppor-tunity through a friend who told him about an open call that the Patriots were putting out for artists to design posters. He said it took him about 50 hours to design and create the poster for the Oct. 22 home game against the Buffalo Bills, whichwas displayed in the Patriots Proshop the week of the game.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to choose which home game, which happened to be
Buffalo,” Allen said. “I was inspired to do something about a colonial era minuteman facing up against a large lumbering buffalo. It is imagery I felt could make a fun and compelling design.”
Only 275 of each of the limited- edition, uniquely numbered posters were created for the home games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, and the game against the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany, designed by a German artist. They are all available for purchase online for $50 each, giving fans the opportunity to collect them while they last.
Allen has been a professional muralist for over a decade. His large-scale work can be viewed throughout Massachusetts, including murals in his hometown of Fitchburg, and in New York City. He is also a digital art teacher at Littleton High School and credits teaching graphic design to teenagers with having a major influence on his growth and development as a designer.
“As an artist and illustrator, you are always looking for projects and clients that can help improve your visibility, so this is obviously an amazing opportunity,” said Allen.
As a lifelong, die-hard New England sports fan, Allen enjoys incorporating New England’s rich sports history into his designs. A link to his online store is on his website, which features a variety of New England sports themed concepts and merchandise, some of them the results of momentum from the poster success.
Allen was given tickets for that October Buffalo Bills home game. He brought along his 11-yearold son Parker, his inspiration, who was excited to get a copy of the poster from his dad once it was printed.
“That was a super fun game. It was really amazing to see my poster featured on display in the Patriot Proshop at Gillette,” Allen said.
The Bills game happened to be the only home game the Patriots have won during their challenging season — unless they beat the Jets on Sunday, Jan. 7, their last home game. Allen said he remains a big fan despite the dozen disappointing losses dotted with just four wins.
“This season was definitely rough, and I think a lot of people were hopeful it would be better than it was, but with some key injuries and an anemic offense it was clear early on that we have to rebuild,” Allen said of his take on the bleak season. “That is hard to accept after two decades of dominance, but it happens to every single dynasty. Twenty years of that with Brady will never be replicated.”