The new BA OG Stencil Series from Girl Skateboards has arrived at CCS. And if the “BA” part didn’t clue you in, the entire series was hand painted by CCS & Girl Rider Brian Anderson, all done by painting upon a giant canvas.

I caught up with Brian as he made his way through New York’s Central Park to talk about how the idea came about, the unique creation process, his new home and more.

How have things been, Brian? It’s been a minute since we talked. So you’re in Brooklyn now? Yeah, I found a place that’s in Red Hook, sort of near Carroll Gardens. It’s pretty awesome.

That’s rad. That’s a good area. Are you liking it so far? I like it a lot. I drove cross-country and painted the apartment. And then I had to go to LA and China, so I was only here for about a week and I had to leave town. I’ve been home for a week now and had some friends visiting. I still have a friend of mine visiting, so she and I just went around and did some sh*t in Manhattan today.

I know you guys were just in China. How was that? We went to the X Games in China first. And I actually judged it, I didn’t compete. Me and Kenny Anderson judged and Guy Mariano won. It was fun and we stayed there for two weeks to continue to film for the video. It was great.

How did this stencil series come about? The guys in the art department at Girl, they know that I always contribute to board graphics with ideas and that I like to draw and stuff. And they said, ‘How ‘bout we give you a blank canvas and you can hand paint a board for everybody on the team, at actual size.’

So you just painted it all on a big canvas. Were the board shapes outlined on it already? They sent me a canvas with maybe 14 board shapes drawn out on the canvas. And then they send me a cardboard stencil of the OG Girl logo so I could use that to add continuity into the series. So I started to it but my apartment was too cold and wet. And the paint wouldn’t dry fast enough. So I ended up taking the Canvas down to LA and finishing it up there. At the warehouse at Girl. I just used the OG paint stencil for each board and did my own little style around it for the borders and stuff. And I got to add a few personal things for each guy on the team.

Did you use acrylic? Yes, I did. I used acrylic on the base and spray paint for the stencil.

Since the canvas was the final product, did you have to plot out what you were going to do before you committed each idea to the canvas? Not really, I just got a bunch of bold acrylic colors and I mixed some colors as well. I mean, I also used paint pens and a little bit of sharpie too. I would have loved to have hand painted with brushes, more detailed, but as always there’s a deadline. And I had to crank it out, but I mean I’m happy with what I did. And every in the warehouse, at Girl seemed to like it as I was doing it. I asked for a second opinion as I was doing it and they said, ‘Don’t worry, it looks great’. They went and scanned them all, and they transferred it and put them on the boards.

What kind of personal stuff did you add in there for each rider’s graphic? Nothing too personal, I guess. For Mike Mo I put an Iphone with an apps on the screen [laughs}, you know, cause that’s his deal. And then Rick…he actually has a tattoo of a heart on his chest that the team did one year when we were at Girl and Chocolate Camp Whatevs. So I got a little heart on Rick’s OG Girl character, right on his chest. Yeah, nothing else aside from those was too personal. I chose fonts for each board, and I did something that I kind of would have done in my sketchbook. So I really feel like I just did some art that I would have done on my own anyway. And I guess they’ve been received really well, so…I’m glad to do another one dude [laughs].

What do you have going on now, Brian? Seems like you’ve been traveling a bunch. Are you going to be able to chill for a bit, now that you’re home in NY? I’m stoked to just be home and see my family, which is another reason I moved back. And actually in December, I’m going to San Francisco for the Skater of The Year Party. And then on that same trip I’ll be going to Portland to see Nike about the shoe design that I’ve been doing. So it’ll be a good combo trip. Then I’ll come back to New York for Christmas and see the family. In January, we’re celebrating 15 years of 4Star, so, early January I’ll be flying to LA so I can just be involved.

Are you trying to film at all while you’re home in New York? Yeah, I really, really want to but…I feel like I’m going to make a big public announcement right now. I don’t know what I did to my knee, but I f**ked it up pretty bad. So, I’ve been getting acupuncture and there’s a good knee surgeon in San Francisco that I’m going to go to and get an MRI and get his opinion. Hopefully there’s just some fluid in there and that’s it. Or something that’s easy to fix. Because I want to make this next video part the best I can make it.

Is this something you did in China? I think I did. We were filming for this Girl and Chocolate thing and I think I might have landed on it straight-legged. So, like I said I can walk fine. But it just sort of feels like someone’s hand is holding my knee at all times. So it’s not painful, but I just feel something that’s really foreign. I skated really hard one day in China and swelled up like a melon.

That’s a bummer. Hopefully it’s nothing too gnarly. We’ll see. I’ve had a good run so far. And it doesn’t mean my career’s over. It just means that if I need surgery, I need surgery and there’s nothing else to it. And I’ll heal and I’ll be back.

All photos courtesy of Girl Skateboards.