Dready is a character and a style of art created by West Indian (Jamaican born) artist Shane Aquart.
Since its beginnings in 2004, Dready art has evolved from just images of that character, to a style of art embodying the colours, humor and style. Images of stingrays and turtles of houses and boats in the Dready style are just as common as Dready himself. Yet, Dready remains the iconic center of the art. The people in Grand Cayman now recognize Dready as a staple of the community through various charitable endeavours. One such project would include fund raising for the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme and the Guy Harvey Marine Institute.[1] Both continue their studies in their respective fields.
"Dready … has become an instantly recognizable style of art rather than just a character. Colourful, modern, fun, irreverent and cool …"[2]
Dready started life as a doodle in the early 1980s but Shane didn’t begin planning the first Dready designs until the late 1990s.
Dready art first began appearing on the scene in late 2004, making its move from doodle to a rendered postcard design and original art; then onto T shirts in late 2005 and bags and baseball caps in 2006.
"The simple cartoon designs lend themselves perfectly to T-shirts and baseball caps with their bright colours and quirky messages"[3]