GV TEAMS UP WITH THE ADCOM GROUP TO UNVEIL NEW SHERWIN-WILLIAMS BILLBOARD

GV is exited to team up with The Adcom Group and Sherwin-Williams’ to unveil a colorful banner on the side of Sherwin-Williams downtown headquarters, celebrating many of the city’s most beloved landmarks.

In September 2010, Sherwin-Williams installed a banner featuring a beautiful black-and-white photograph of Cleveland with the headline “Our home since 1866. Our pride forever.”  The new banner celebrates Cleveland’s vitality and amazing architecture with the title “Our Vibrant Home Town. Sherwin-Williams and Cleveland. Together Since 1866.”

“We wanted to demonstrate our feeling of pride and commitment to the city of Cleveland while taking a more colorful approach, especially since our company is a global leader in color,” said Chris Connor, chairman and chief executive officer, The Sherwin-Williams Company. “The new headline, Our Vibrant Home Town, is a powerful, energizing message that Cleveland is not only one of the best locations in the nation, but our community is one of the best locations in the world! We want to salute the world class companies, natural resources, sports teams, health care and cultural institutions that make Cleveland a truly special place for our citizens and visitors alike.”

The new banner features the following landmarks and icons:

1. Terminal Tower
2. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
3. Quicken Loans Arena
4. Main Avenue Bridge
5. Progressive Field
6. Fountain of Eternal Life, also known as the War Memorial Fountain
7. West Side Market
8. Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse  
9. Goodtime III  
10. Global Center for Health and Innovation
11. FirstEnergy Stadium, Home of the Cleveland Browns
12. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge #463
13. Key Tower
14. Guardians of Traffic on the Hope Memorial Bridge
15. Wind Turbine
16. Veterans Memorial Bridge, also known as the Detroit Superior Bridge
17. Lolly the Trolley 

Landmarks such as the Terminal Tower and the West Side Market pay homage to Cleveland’s rich heritage, while the Global Center for Health and Innovation celebrates the city’s future. The bold colors featured in the banner were selected to reflect the city’s vitality.

A true local work of art, the banner was developed by Cleveland-based agency The Adcom Group, which recommended that Sherwin-Williams commission Cleveland’s own George Vlosich III to illustrate the piece.

Vlosich is an internationally known artist for his illustrations and one-of-a-kind pieces of art using an Etch A Sketch^®.  Recently, he created murals for Positively Cleveland and Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino.  KSK Visual Ingenuity printed the banner at their facility in Solon, Ohio and oversaw its installation.

The banner is displayed prominently on the Ontario Street side of the Sherwin-Williams global headquarters building. For more information on Sherwin-Williams, visit www.sherwin-williams.com.

Interesting Sherwin-Williams Banner Facts

• The banner is mixed media – a combination of illustration, paint, ink and digital.
• Due to the detailed nature of the piece, the illustration took over 150 hours to create.
• One of the largest Vinyl Mesh wall banners in the U.S.
• The banner consists of 14 printed panels each 16’ wide before finishing.
• There is a total of 23,320 square feet of printed vinyl mesh material, which is over ½ acre (43,560 square feet) and about half the size of a regulation football field end zone to end zone (football field is 48,000 sq ft).
• 7 gallons of ink were used to print the banner.
• Print time was 56 hours.
• 259 grommets are sewn into the banner
• The banner weighs approximately 1800 lbs.
• There is 2,074 feet of welding to join the 14 sections together.
• 322 ratchet straps hold the banner to the building.
• Over 1300 feet of cable attach to the side of the building to support the banner.
• 5830 average size adults could stand on the banner, shoulder to shoulder, assuming each person is approximately 4 square feet across.

About Sherwin-Williams

Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers.

With 34,154 associates and $9.53 billion in sales, S-W is the USA’s #1 paint and coatings company; #3 in the world.

The company manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams®, Dutch Boy®, Krylon®, Minwax®, Thompson’s® Water Seal®, Ronseal™, Becker Acroma™, Sayerlack®, Euronavy®, Altax™ and many more.

With global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams® branded products are sold exclusively through a chain of more than 4,000 company-operated stores and facilities, while the company’s other brands are sold through leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors.

The Sherwin-Williams Global Finishes Group delivers a wide range of products to the automotive refinishes, product finishes, and protective and marine markets in 120 countries around the world.  For more information, visit sherwin-williams.com.  Join Sherwin-Williams on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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OKCLE – Cleveland for Oklahoma City

With last year’s success of our “Cavs for Mavs” shirt during the NBA Finals, we have once again decided to create a shirt supporting the Heat’s opponent.  This year we created our OKCLE shirt to rally behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in hopes that they can experience the same success the Mavericks had last year.  Being Clevelanders, we still hold some animosity towards LeBron for the way he left the city.  Therefore we, along with many other Clevelanders, are pulling for the Thunder in their attempt to bring an NBA Title to Oklahoma City. 

Our OKCLE shirt has already been generating a lot of buzz and support, including being featured on Channel 3 local news.  Be sure to order yours now so that you can show your support for Oklahoma City while supporting Cleveland at the same time.  As our tagline says, “Won’t Steal Your Thunder.  Only Borrowing It.”  

George’s Cleveland Casino Mural in the News

George’s mural has been completed and put on display at Cleveland’s new Horseshoe casino which opened Monday and has already garnered some local publicity.  News Channel 5 recently ran an article showcasing the mural.  Click here to read the article and give us your feedback on the mural, or the Casino in general.  We would also like to thank everyone for the tremendous support and well wishes that we have received since unveiling the mural.  It is greatly appreciated.

Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino Unveils George’s Newest Etch

Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino opens today and has been generating a lot of excitement.  We’re especially excited about the opening because our artwork will be prominently displayed as a wall mural. 

George’s latest Etch a Sketch, which has been converted into a mural, showcases some of Cleveland’s biggest names.  To celebrate Cleveland’s great history as an entertainment hub, George has etched prominent Clevelanders Bob Hope, Halle Berry, Drew Carey and Paul Newman along with Cleveland sports icons Bob Feller, Jim Brown and Austin Carr as well as “The Man of Steel”, Superman, who was created in Cleveland during the 1930s.  We are extremely excited to unveil the completed version of the mural during today’s grand opening.  Be sure to check back later for updated pictures and the completed mural.

Indians Opening Day in One Week!

Opening Day is a week from today, and as of now the Indians are tied for first place. Although most talk around the Central Division has been surrounding the Detroit Tigers and their blockbuster addition of Prince Fielder to an already stellar lineup, the Indians could be a surprise team this year.

The Tribe made no flashy offseason moves. They added veteran pitchers Derek Lowe and Kevin Slowey, and added sure-handed first baseman Casey Kotchman, who had a career year in 2011. None of these names jump out as anyone who will make a tremendous impact, but by adding groundball pitchers and one of the best fielding first basemen in the league, the Indians are attempting to win through pitching and defense. We also have to hope that the team is able to stay healthy and the young guys continue to develop. If Shin Shoo Choo can bounce back from a poor year in which injuries and off the field issues affected his play, and if young players such as Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis continue to develop, the Indians could be an exciting young team to watch, as predicted by ESPN’s Bill Simmons in his recent podcast (around the 50 min. mark). The Indians offense will most likely be no match in comparison to the high-powered lineup that Detroit possesses, but if the pitching and defense can slow down the Tigers’ big bats, and players remain healthy and develop, the Tribe could hang around. Another factor that may help the Indians sneak into the playoffs is the addition of the extra wild card team. Both leagues have implemented an additional wild card team to the playoff race, which gives us one more shot at making our way into the postseason.

The greatest thing about Opening Day is that it gives us a chance to hold out hope and believe that at least one of our Cleveland sports teams can make a run into the postseason. Therefore, in celebration of Opening Day and our early season playoff dreams, GV Art + Design has re-released all our previously popular Cleveland Indians apparel along with a number of new gear for the new year. Many of our shirts will be carried in the Cleveland Indians Team Shop, as they were last year, but be sure to continually check our website, Facebook and Twitter, to keep up to the minute tabs on all the latest news from GV.

Get Your Cleveland Irish Shirt Today!

This Saturday marks the 145^th annual Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day parade, one of the oldest in the country.  Cleveland is rich in Irish tradition, as evident with the longevity of its annual parade which has taken place every year since 1867 with the exception of during the Great Depression years of 1913-1935.  This year’s parade is sure to be one of the biggest with it landing on a weekend and weather reports calling for temperatures in the mid-60s.  The parade is set to step-off at 1:04 p.m. at the intersection of Superior Avenue and East 18th Street.  No St. Patrick’s Day is complete without the ‘Wearin of the Green’, so why not show your Irish pride and at the same time your Cleveland pride by wearing GV Art’s extremely popular CleveLand That I Love Irish shirts.  Orders have been pouring in, so be sure to place your order today!  These shirts are extremely popular this time of year, but can be worn all year as we are always Clevelanders and we are always Irish.     

Kyrie Irving: Cleveland’s New King

Kyrie Irving has made an immediate impact this year for the Cavs and has shown the world why he was selected #1 overall, even after playing only 11 games at Duke due to injury.  The 19 year old Irving continues to come through in clutch situations, which was evident in the team’s last two games.  Sunday against the Sacramento Kings Irving was fouled with 0.4 seconds remaining in the game and the Cavs down by one when he went to the foul line.  He calmly sank both foul shots, giving the Cavs the 93-92 win, finishing with 23 points.  He followed Sunday’s clutch performance with another impressive showing last night at the Q.  The team was carried by Antawn Jamison through the first three quarters of the game, but once again, the rookie came through when it mattered most. The Cavs entered the fourth quarter down 11 and down as many as 17 late in the third quarter before starting a late game rally led by Irving and Alonzo Gee.  The combination of Irving and Gee was responsible for 30 of the Cavaliers’ 35 fourth quarter points.  Irving scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, which included a pair of 3’s to jump-start the rally.  His no look, over the shoulder fast break pass to Gee for an open dunk intensified the comeback.

These two most recent displays of Kyrie’s ability to come up big in late game situations are just the latest in Irving’s already impressive resume of late game heroics.  On January 29 in Boston, Kyrie became the third youngest player in the NBA since 2002-2003 to hit a game winning shot with under three seconds remaining.  His driving layup with 2.6 seconds left sealed the Cavs 88-87 victory over the veteran Celtics.  This situation was nearly identical as a month earlier in Indianapolis against the Pacers when Kyrie broke down his defender to get a clear path to the basket, but missed the layup at the end of regulation, resulting in a Cavaliers overtime loss.  His ability to get to the rim showed he was a special player.  February 4 against the Dallas Mavericks was another night where Kyrie showed his late game maturity when he made a reverse layup with 15.8 seconds remaining to get the win over the defending champions.

The most important thing about all these late game spectacles is that Kyrie has restored hope for the Cleveland Cavaliers and its fan base.  After last season’s record of 19-63, most Clevelanders felt that LeBron ripping our hearts out had set this franchise back years.  However, Kyrie has quickly given the city of Cleveland reason to believe in what the Cavs are and will be in the years to come.  He is a team oriented player who has shown he has the ability to finish games late.  The Cavaliers are in good hands with Irving.  In a point guard driven league, he is the right guy to lead this team into the future.

Be sure to check out our latest in Kyrie Irving apparel by clicking on the images below. 

Should the Browns Trade Up to Draft RG3?

In a recent interview with the media, the NFL Network’s draft guru Mike Mayock stated that he thinks the Browns should do “whatever it takes” to ensure that they get Robert Griffin III in this year’s draft.  This could mean trading up to the number two slot rather than staying put and hoping that RG3 falls to their current fourth position.  Teams such as Washington and Miami could attempt to trade with St. Louis for their spot at two, which they would then use on Griffin if the Browns don’t make any moves.  The Browns have plenty to give the Rams if they decide they need to move up two spots to get Griffin, but is it worth it?  It is speculated that if the Browns want to move up to the number two slot, they would have to trade St. Louis both of their first round picks, the fourth and 22^nd overall.  With an offense in as much disarray as the Browns, it may not be worth it to trade away two first rounders.  The offense needs a lot of work, and it becomes a question as to whether RG3 is really that dynamic to warrant trading away two first round picks that could be used on quality offensive players.  The Browns ranked 30^th of 32 teams last year in points scored, averaging 13.6 points per game.  Their passing ranked 24^th and rushing was 28^th, while falling to 29^th in total yards.  There is obviously a lot of work to be done. 

The question comes back to, is it worth it to trade away two first round picks to select Griffin at the number two spot.  The NFL is a quarterback driven league.  Looking at this year’s playoff teams, Eli, Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Roethlisberger all made it.  These five quarterbacks have all lead their teams to at least one Super Bowl in each of the last five, except Brady, but he has three Super Bowl wins in five appearances.  Could RG3 be our answer? 

From everything I hear, RG3 is a dynamic player.  I’m no draft expert, but everyone who claims to be seems very high on Griffin.  The problem with Griffin coming to the Browns is that we run a West Coast offense whereas he ran a spread at Baylor.  Mayock says we should adjust our offensive scheme to tailor to Griffin’s abilities.  However, the Browns obviously made no adjustments last year to try and help Colt in our dismal system, who says they won’t be too stubborn to do the same with Griffin?  Another knock on Griffin is that he’s listed at only 6’2” which is undersized for a quarterback.  Will his height affect his ability to perform in the NFL?  Apparently, most draft experts do not believe it will, which is why Mel Kiper Jr. has us selecting him fourth and Mayock believes we should move up to two to select him.  I am all for the Browns selecting the right guy to lead us in the future and into the playoffs, but am unsure if I would trade away two first round picks for him.  I think I would rather keep my picks and select other impact players such as Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon and another solid offensive threat at 22.  Only time will tell what the Browns decide to do, and free agency will have a huge role in this year’s draft.  Depending on what happens with Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn, this could all sort itself out before draft day on April 26.  Until then, everyone in Cleveland will be speculating as to which way the Browns will go.

What do you think the Browns should do?  Trade away our first round picks to get RG3, or stay put at four?  Or do you think they should target someone else altogether?

Throw the Hammer Down! Our Austin Carr “Mr. Cavalier” Shirt

Austin Carr’s number 34 hangs from the rafters at the “Q” as one of the six numbers to be retired in Cleveland Cavalier history.  Carr was the first overall selection by the Cavs in the 1971 draft; coming out of Notre Dame as a two-time All American.  He had an immediate impact on the Cavaliers roster and was an integral part of the Miracle of Richfield and the Cavs playoff run from 1975-1978.  Austin Carr still remains the franchise leader in field goals attempted and field goals made, and ranks second in points scored.

Nowadays, you can listen to Austin’s colorful commentary alongside fellow Cavalier broadcaster Fred McCleod.  The duo has become one of the most enjoyable teams of broadcasters in sports.  They feed off each other’s energy and set each other up perfectly for classic one-liners.  Austin has coined a number of famous phrases around the city of Cleveland including: “Throw the Hammer Down!”, “Get That Weak Stuff Outta Here!” and “From Deep, in the Q!”  You can be assured that you will hear one of these phrases during every Cavalier telecast and Austin will say it with the same enthusiasm every single time.         

GV Art + Design has teamed up with Austin before and we have decided to do it once again with our newest “Mr. Cavalier” shirt.  Besides being a great athlete and entertaining broadcaster, Austin is also an all-around good guy who has been a privilege to work with.  Austin has always been a Cleveland favorite.  With our newest “Mr. Cavalier” design, you can pay homage to a man who has remained true to the city of Cleveland from the day he was drafted.  Austin Carr will forever remain, Mr. Cavalier.

Cleveland vs. LeBron

The Cleveland Cavaliers play the Miami Heat tonight in South Beach and everyone knows there is still a lingering hatred among Cavs fans for our once beloved hometown hero LeBron James.  Personally, my animosity towards the “Chosen One” has subsided a bit after watching him play the sidekick role to Dwyane Wade during their loss in last year’s Finals.  LeBron lacks the killer instinct that is required to place him atop the list of NBA legends.  In a recent interview, Michael Jordan said the only player in the league who could be compared to MJ would be Kobe Bryant.  Bryant exhibits the same drive and passion for the game that put Jordan at the top of NBA greats.  Both players are the first ones in the gym and last ones out.  Basketball is life.  LeBron, on the other hand, is so focused on becoming a global icon that he now holds a minority stake in the Liverpool Football Club and even launched a cartoon web series last year.  His sole focus is not basketball.  His goal is to spread out across a variety of platforms so that he can become one of the biggest names in the world.  His passion for the game is lacking compared to other greats.  Even his own teammate, Chris Bosh, hinted at LeBron’s inability to close out games by doing a recent GQ interview in which he said he would want Dwyane Wade to take the last shot.  Bosh stated that Wade’s “a champ. He’s an MVP” he also said “he relishes those moments”.  Without hesitating, Bosh showed he would much rather have Wade shooting the ball with the game on the line than LeBron.  This is why LeBron had to leave Cleveland and “take his talents to South Beach” because he doesn’t have the clutch gene.  LeBron needs to be Wade’s sidekick in order to win his championship.  LeBron has elevated his game thus far this season by limiting his 3-point attempts and improving his low-post game which could lead to his 3^rd MVP, but he will still be criticized and hated for leaving his local team and city who adored him by breaking up with them on national TV to join his fellow superstars in South Beach.

Feel free to vent about LeBron or defend him by posting in our comments section.  And for any Cleveland fans or any other NBA fans who are simply sick of LeBron and his ego, be sure to visit our website and browse our collection of “Lyin’ King” and “Global Con” t-shirts.