GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — So, what do arts education, Roaring Fork Valley natives Patrick and Mike McCarney, and Vernon Davis, a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, have in common?

There is a theme that runs through this seemingly incongruous list. Really, there is.

The McCarney brothers — Patrick, 27, and Mike, 25 — recently sat down in a Glenwood Springs coffee shop to talk about their new project that combines all the above.

“I was born right over there,” said Patrick, motioning in the direction of Valley View Hospital.

The brothers are about as local as you can get. Their mother, Mary McCarney, owned and operated Planted Earth for years, and their father, Steve McCarney, helped start Solar Energy International. Both ventures are in Carbondale.

Together and separately, the two boys attended local schools including Mountain Sage School, Aspen Community School, Colorado Rocky Mountain School and Colorado Mountain College — all in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Today, the McCarney brothers' reach goes far beyond the valley. Since 2004, they've been working together as front men for their graphic arts clothing company, Akomplice. Their breakout designs are popular with skateboarders and snowboarders, skiers, hip hop artists and professional athletes.

Akomplice products are available in 22 countries and 200 retailers; on television, Akomplice has appeared everywhere from ESPN to HBO.

The McCarney brothers' graphic designs are popular with Carbondale local and X Games medalist Peter Olenick, skateboard greats Tony Hawk and Tony Alva, Snoop Dog, Carmelo Anthony, and the boys on the TV series “Entourage.”

With Akomplice, many of the ideas for the artwork come from Mike, who is the head designer.

“He's a prodigy,” Patrick said matter-of-factly.

Patrick designs and produces the concepts that both brothers create.

Glenwood Springs-based artist Mary Noone has known the McCarney family since before the boys were born. She said she's always impressed with their creativity and their ability to take action on their ideas.

“Patrick and Mike are a constant source of surprise and innovation,” Noone said, “and they're a testament of how family and partnership can really work.”

The Statue of Liberty

Patrick said the one image that put the brothers on the map was a graphic they created of Lady Liberty holding a gun high in the air instead of her torch. The ambivalence of the image — Is it for or against guns? Is it a statement about the U.S. military? — is what has made it so popular. The image proved so pivotal for Patrick that he sometimes goes by “Patrick Liberty.”

“That was our big break ... our hit song,” said Patrick. “It came out about six years ago, and it took on a life of its own. Rednecks loved it, and hippies loved it. It stands for whatever you want it to stand for. It's not a pro-gun or an anti-gun statement. We've sold at least 30,000 Liberty Ts, and I've only heard of a couple of people offended by it.”

As Mike captures ideas and transforms them onto clothing, he and Patrick are constantly talking their concepts out.

“It's a real collaboration,” said MIke, who creates hundreds of images, sometimes manipulating them through Photoshop and Illustrator on the computer. “We're 21st century artists.”

“Their designs are fresh, uncluttered and almost unnerving in their directness,” said Noone.

Back to Vernon

The McCarney brothers' latest project involves Vernon Davis, the 49ers' feisty, talented tight end, known as much for his showboating as for his touchdowns. (He made two during the Jan. 22 playoff game against the New York Giants.)

But there's another side to Davis, who majored in studio art at the University of Maryland.

“I grew up in a tough D.C. community where the arts were nowhere to be found,” Davis told reporter Jay Casteel of the website ballerstatus.com, which covers urban lifestyle culture. “So I had to wait to discover art years later in college.”

Patrick and Mike teamed up with Davis to produce a limited edition T-shirt. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the shirts' sales are benefitting Young Audiences Arts for Learning, a national nonprofit organization that reaches more than 5 million schoolchildren annually through arts education programs.

The shirt's design, created by Akomplice, features a colorful abstract by Davis overlaid with a stylized photo of the football player and artist.

“Our goal is to help create opportunities for kids right now,” Davis said.

What's next

For Patrick and Mike, although they consider working with Vernon Davis project their “cherry on top” project, there are lots more ideas ready to be launched.

Most pressing and most local are the 30,000 acres of land in neighboring North Fork Valley that could be leased to natural gas companies for energy development.

The brothers have lived in Paonia on and off for years, and are concerned about the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing on the organic farming community there.

“We've supported work with water pumps in Africa and anti-global warming campaigns,” said Patrick. “Now we're talking to the Josh Fox of ‘Gasland.'” The documentary about gas drilling and fracking was nominated for an Academy Award in 2011.

“Our work represents us,” added Mike. “And each year the door opens wider.”