It all begins with an idea.
Airbrush muraling has always been my specialty. It’s where I started in 1978. Truthfully, I started with an airbrush that was given to me by my cousin. It was packed away in a shoebox. I didn’t have an air compressor and couldn’t afford one. I used spare car tires and would drive to the local gas station to fill them up with air, then use them as the air source for my airbrushing. My first mural was in an upstairs hallway of a house. I carried those tires up and down the stairway a hundred times just to learn how to use it. I never dreamed at the time that this would turn into a business where I would work with an international audience. What a ride it’s been!
Hard Decisions
This project was probably my most difficult airbrushing and design jobs. The Hard Decisions Sunsation F-4 is one gorgeous theme boat that will be on tour on the poker run circuit, debuting in 2021. Owned by Jason Tolliver, the design is a storyboard of the good vs. evil, devil/angel theme. I spent 10 months of my spare time painting this. Over 500 hours of airbrushing alone. 800+ hours total in this scheme.
The demonic starboard side features the creature with his leathery wings and color shifting eyes that appear to watch you as you walk down the side of the boat. The 4 aces card hand and the human/primate skull prompting the argument between Darwinism and Celestial/Devine creation that is all on fire.
The port side is a celestial mix of statuesque and sensual angels, a Roman Catholic cathedral arch, a celestial time piece that emanates bilge water from the 11th hour time hands, freehand scrolling and the smoky angel wing intertwining itself amongst the mural.
The angel and demon eventually come together on the deck to comingle and copulate, finding a balance of coexistence in the physical world.
The entire boat is pearl coated to make it glow on those beautiful sunny days. I can’t wait to see this in the water.
ENDANGERED
A 1993 Chevrolet owned by Dennis Huffman (Huffy) became the first big airbrushing project that basically put Mitcher T. Custom Painting on the map as far as a national award winning artist. After winning the 1994 DuPont TOP GUN AWARD, recognizing it as one of the top ten paint jobs in the country, the credential and pedigree that this vehicle gave me escalated my notoriety as a painter/artist and the business grew rapidly with higher demand and a better, more discerning clientele.
Set with an endangered wildlife theme, the freehand airbrush muraling took more than 400 hours to complete. The truck was fabricated and computerized to have the gull wing doors, the reversed hood and the tilt box open automatically on a programmed timing system and it was automated to sounds and music. The vehicle won numerous auto shows and awards and was invited to tour all over the country on display in the well known AutoRama and World of Wheels shows.
I met a lot of really cool people and had a ton of fun touring with Huffy. This truck will always be one of my very favorite projects.
