Adobe’s new library of brushes allows you to use Keith Haring’s tools and spread the positivity of his work

The work of Keith Haring is loved across the world, both for its bold, colourful aesthetic and its empowering and unapologetic message. During his short-lived career, Haring covered the streets of New York City with his iconic works, as much a pop artist as he was a social activist, advocating for safe sex and HIV and AIDs awareness. Whether you’re a fan of his distinctive line work or the messages conveyed, his legacy is undeniable and has helped shape our understanding of art today.

Haring famously believed that “art is for everybody,” stating that “art is nothing” unless it reaches people from all walks of life. And it’s this sentiment that Adobe is drawing on in a collaboration with the Keith Haring Foundation, digitising Haring’s brushes in Adobe Fresco and Photoshop. The brushes are free to download and the project marks the next step in Adobe’s mission to preserve and share the works of great artists, as well as putting them in the hand of creatives around the world.

While much of Haring’s ethos was spread through where he made his work, it also extended to how he made his work, often seeing him work with tools found outside of conventional art shops. In turn, the new free library of brushes includes chalk, felt tip, spray paint, marker, and dripping paint, among others. Adobe’s Kyle Webster tells us of the project: “Up until this point, my focus has been on trying to create digital versions of more high-end tools, as well as digital tools that create special effects. This time the challenge was really to try and look at the range of materials he used that are very common to everybody who uses any kind of natural media.”

In this spirit of Keith Haring, and to celebrate his legacy, Adobe is also tasking the creative community to use his brushes in Adobe Fresco or Photoshop to “draw a line for good” by creating an artwork promoting positive change. Eight winners will receive $5,000 (or your local equivalent), a one year Creative Cloud membership and will have their work featured worldwide at Adobe MAX.

To enter, visit here. Submissions close at midnight on 29 September and winners will be announced at Adobe MAX on 20-22 October.

Daniel Vargaz Diaz, Adobe’s creative director on this project concludes: “We want to enable as many people as possible to be creative, just like Keith Haring wanted. I also think his style of creating art or painting feels so attainable. You don’t have to be an academic painter to create art.” To which Kyle adds, “I think this will free people up to experiment a lot and I just think that’s always a good thing."