Sketching...

for the haunted house design.

The Mother of all Murals.

I've been doing murals now and again for some years but this one takes the cake for sheer size. It's a new assignment: painting a haunted house fairground attraction.
This is how it has looked since it was built in 1973:

It's not REALLY scary, more like Disney-scary. It was built by some guy on a truck-trailer, using a steel frame with aluminium panels pop-riveted to it. Over the years, the paint has faded and cracked and some pieces of the frame have rusted away. So when current owner Reymond of Circus Remundo bought it, it was time for a restauration.

I got carte blanche on the design (whoopee!) and started pouring some of my dark fantasies into sketches. It turned out part Escher, part Dali and part Kustombart. I got the go-ahead and after ordering massive amounts of primer, filler, basecoat and clear, I started today by spraying primer on some of the pieces. I tinted the primer so it will act as a base-kolor onto which I can spray details.

That's me, spraying primer on a scary, twisted ladder. You can get an idea of the humungosity of the thing. The picture was taken by Reymond, standing halfway along the length of the thing and right now the top part is removed so it fits into the hangar!

Tomorrow I'll continue with the primers, hopefully laying down all of the base kolors, after that, I'l start on the details. I'll keep yous-all posted.

Goodies!

Santa has come early this year and I've been a good boy. No really!
Check this out: some vinyl murals to sticl on the side of your van, for instantcoolness, two license frames, wire wheel style, (check out the little spinners, as well!) and a scroll striping decal set.

And then, my precious! These will go onto the Green Machine, baby!

Here's one I prepared earlier

Here's a Bike I painted in the spring. Never got to see the bike completely built up. Luckily there's always folks like Onno Wieringa of Madness Photograpy who took some snaps of it when it was entered for the Bigtwin Bikeshow, a few weeks ago.

Here's the finished frame and tank in silver flakes with blue kandy and pearl white outlines just before I delivered it to the customer.

And here it is at the show:

This pic below is not by Onno but you get a better view from the top.

Hopefully, there will be more 70s choppers to paint in 2011!

Pondering Flares

The fender flares and front spoiler on the Green Machine are cracked in several places and the paint's chipped and scratched too. Luckily they are only bolted on so I think I'll take em off this winter to repair the 'glass. Matching the original green kolor is proving to be a hassle. It's a kustom-mixed base kolor topped by clear with silver & gold flakes mixed in, faded by 25 years of So-Cal sunshine. Try to match that!

I ran into this problem when I wanted to respray the faded roof. I just mixed a new shade of dark pearl green for that and I'm thinking of using that for the flares as well. I'll probably also switch the amber lights for clear ones.
Here's how it looks now:

 And here's a photochop of the new kolor on the flares.

Tell me what you think, I'm open for suggestions!

Also, I'm still looking for replacement clear sidemarker lights! Anyone know of some that fit?

I need it!

Chrome taillight bezels for 1971-1977 Dodge Tradesman or portsman. Let me know if you got some or know of some.

Make that ass look even better!

Oh yeah, and clear lenses for the side-marker lights.

That's why I don't drive my van during the winter.

You can almost hear the rust eating away at the sheet metal.

Hit the deck!

Here's some skateboard decks designed by Jason Cruz, featuring his own van, the Dice van and the Green Machine. Yowza!