hey everybody, new to the hamb, so here is my introduction.... Most of the time, i feel like i was born with a brush in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. i started out VERY young. i grew up in michigan, and my dad was a truck driver, so i spent alot of time at the garage with him and the guys. i clearly remember the day he raced home when i was 5, scooped me up, and took me to the garage because they had just gotten a few new rigs, and the painter, an old sign painter who went by the name "Roach", was lettering the doors and doing the classic western style scroll work. i sat there all day in awe! i had always drawn and colored as a kid (my mom has portraits i did of the family when i was 3 years old tucked away in my old baby book somewhere) but when i saw how he walked from one side of the truck, laid down a line, then walked to the other side and did the same line in reverse, i knew what i wanted to do with my life. the fact that he did it freehand was amazing to me even at that age! so, i immediately tried to imitate his stuff. the truck garage had alot of old broke down equipment out back, and just alot of old crap, almost a mini junkyard. so, they gave me old cans of rustoleum, and old paint brushes that they cut into points and i would go out there for hours and hours painting cartoon characters and my name over and over and over. looking back on it all now, i wish i had at least one piece of my painted metal from back then. anyway, during high-school, i was painting on my friends cars and would go to the milan dragway and paint the track times on the car windows, andeventually went to work for "roach' in his sign shop...thats where i learned how to go about things the right way, proper ways to use certain brushes, layouts, prep work etc. i worked with him through highschool and college, where i earned my degree in fine art, with a graphic design minor. after i was done with school, i decided that i was ready, and started my own shop out of my garage. i figured, why should i be making roach all the money when i could make it for myself?! since then i have never looked back. i have been in and out of different garage spaces and leases, been broken into and robbed a few times, so now i own my own piece of land and built my own shop/studio/garage....and have it heavily protected with the pack of dogs! haha the shop is nice, but what i really love is going out and doing the stuff at the shows, and traveling to peoples homes, driveways, and various garages in this little south east corner of the country. there is just something about traveling that i love (probably has to do with the trucking childhood thing) as far as technique is concerned, i rarely use a centerline. if i am striping some guys hood or trunk deck, i will lay down a magnet strip just to keep it balanced, but i don't grid any thing out. i usually just grab a brush, look at the space i am painting real quick and jump into it. i have found that when you think about it too hard, the results arent as good. i have too many ideas in my head, which is why my wife forced me to start selling the leftovers at auction. sometimes when i am laying in bed at night, my mind wont stop, and i find myself painting lines and different layouts, and i just have to get out of bed and get out the paint and brushes or else i will go crazy! so anyway, is that enough of a background introduction for those of you that actually read this entire thing? if you want to see quick galleries of my work or anything else i have going on http://www.joeyfinz.com
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....... No just joking. Welcome, and thanks for bringing your talents to the board. Make sure you post your work on the Fri. art show
Cool intro. I go through Milan on the way to work and my brother races up there. Always wanted to end up in TN myself. Just love it there. See you on the Friday Art show!
The Jalopy Journal
