'It's Life Changing' Long Beach Artist Wins His First Grammy

LONG BEACH, CA — Long Beach artist Dave Van Patten said he couldn't stop smiling at Sunday night's 65th Annual Grammy Award ceremony after accepting the award for Best Boxed of Special Limited Edition Package.

Van Patten's artwork decorates The Grateful Dead box set for "In And Out Of The Garden: Madison Square Garden ’81, ’82, ’83" and he said it was an honor to work with the music legends, and the Grammy win was an amazing surprise.

"We walked into it, at least me personally not really expecting to win," Van Patten said. "So when they called our names, it was Lisa Glines and I, she was one of the other art directors who was part of the project, we just were like, 'wait what?' We just were kind of in shock for a second."

The partnership came about naturally, Van Patten said, because he worked with the art directors for Rhino Records before and even with Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux in 2017.

Though challenging, Van Patten said the people he worked with on the project, Lisa Glines and Doran Tyson, helped bring him out of his comfort zone and make the box set different from the typical Grateful Dead art.

While creating his Grammy-winning artwork, Van Patten said he listened to The Grateful Dead every day and danced around his living room searching for ideas. Van Patten said it really helped him feel connected with the band and guided him through the creation.

"I was listening to their music and I almost felt like, somehow the music was guiding the little wheels in my mind towards the art direction," Van Patten said. "I felt like Jerry [Garcia] helped me out a little bit."

Van Patten said he's excited for what this newfound "street cred" could bring for his career, but he doesn't want that to stop him from continuing to work with local bands and staying connected to his community.

This big win at such a huge industry ceremony was a humbling experience for Van Patten, the artist said. Even though the award was presented at the Premiere Ceremony before the televised awards show, Van Patten said he received several congratulations and recognitions throughout the night.

"They have ceremonies like the Oscars for films and Grammys for music. They don't really have a ceremony for best visual artist, so getting this is kind of as good as it gets for visual artists," Van Patten said. "Obviously it's life changing."

The hardest part of the Grammy win for Van Patten, is finding out where to display the trophy. With his cat and dog at home, Van Patten said his Grammy will likely be covered in their hair.

"Definitely nowhere where it could be knocked over by my cat, maybe I'll put it on the top top shelf," Van Patten said. "It's not like I need to look at it all day, I might even put it in the garage or in my studio."