awards
life drawing
set design

turtle van
1. concept
2. painting
3. Finish

entrance to
other arts

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium's -
Caretta Cruiser

True story: I pulled up behind the Caretta Cruiser at a left-turn light a couple of weeks ago. Surprisingly, I was very impressed by the brilliant color of the artwork and the shiny polish of the surface. They must be taking care of this van like their baby.
It has been over 9 years since I first painted this piece. Wow. (Tech note: I used PPG automotive urethane, Pittsburg Paint.)
Another note on this paint history: This van had a crash in 2004 that required my repainting the entire front end and 2/3 of the passenger side artwork. Fortunately, I still had those original shape masks and PPG materials. I was able to blend-in an art repair to the original painting.
Thankfully, no new damage has happened since 2004. Well... that I know of, anyway.
New Note: I saw the van in the fall of 2011. It still looks good.

Today, I would create all the artwork in my computer. It would be printed on vinyl and wrapped around the vehicle. The image area would include wrapping over the window surfaces. It would be a complete turtle. I would not freeze. Printing has come do far since even 2004.

I used to be that the disadvantages of vinyl art on vehicles would be that lack of brilliance, shine and luster compared to paint. Printing on vinyl for vehicle wraps has come a long way. But having so much detail along with all the signage and window coverage, makes it a very approach for commercial vehicle graphics. That is why I design for vinyl coverage, today.

(Special Cool Note: Clearwater Marine Aquarium is the home of "Winter" the Dolphin. The 2011 "Dolphin Tale" movie was partially filmed using their building.)