The Krewe of Okeanos, San Marcos’ original Mardi Gras Krewe, is proud to announce Sarah Swinford as the Krewe’s 2026 official Mardi Gras poster artist. The poster promotes the Krewe’s annual Mardi Gras parade which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 14.
The Krewe has been commissioning artists for their annual poster since 2017. The 2017-2019 posters were in an open edition and featured artists Lauren Hoffman and Rafe Sam. In 2020 the Krewe moved to a limited- edition printing. Rene Perez, Morgan Egan, Christopher Barnett, Robin Kelley and Tony Belmonte were the featured artists.
In 2025 the Krewe decided to commission the art students at Texas State for the poster production and chose Adrian Molina in 2025 and Sarah Swinford for the 2026 poster. The posters have become very collectable with most editions selling out quickly.
Sarah is currently a senior at Texas State pursuing a BFA in Studio Art with an emphasis on printmaking and sculpture. Originally from the Rio Grande Valley, she found her way to San Marcos in 2024, where she began making screen prints at Texas State inspired by her Chiapanecan- Texan heritage. Sarah believes that culture and community are the cornerstones of humanity, so much of her art reflects her love of murals, tattoo art, and traditional artesanias.
Sarah’s design for the 2026 poster features Okeanos astride a hippocampus, wielding a trident topped with a fleurde- lis, as they charge through the crashing waves. The main image of the poster is framed within a stone archway and flowing banner, complete with a royal crown, seashell, and Mardi Gras beads.
Printed on 130 lb. cover paper with acrylic links, this four-layer screenprint uses color overlap, hatching, and half-tone dots to form a concise, yet intricate visual narrative. Reference to Greek sculptures, Japanese woodblock prints, and iconic Mardi Gras imagery inspired the design as it developed from a charcoal sketch to a bold and graphic work of art. The poster measures 20x24” and is available in a signed and numbered edition of 15 prints.
Sarah believes that screenprinting “is unique and fun”, noting that, the most time-consuming aspect of Screenprinting “is ensuring that each color layer is separated and burned into an individual screen in a way that will come together like a puzzle to form the final piece.” She added that “the end result with this technique is different than that of a painting, but I believe that it is part of what makes screenprinting so charming and efficient.”
Sarah is grateful to the Krewe of Okeanos for giving her this opportunity to grow as an artist and learn more about the tradition of Mardi Gras. She also would like to thank Jeff Dell, Debbie Smith, and Michael Williams for sharing their artistic wisdom with her throughout this project. Examples of Sarah’s work can be found on her Instagram page: @saritafresita. art Information about purchasing one of the 2026 posters can be obtained by emailing kreweofokeanosinforma-tion@ gmail.com
The Krewe of Okeanos poster for this year’s Mardi Gras features Okeanos astride a hippocampus, wielding a trident topped with a fleur-de-lis, as they charge through the crashing waves. Photo courtesy of Krewe of Okeanos
