Monday Jan 30 - Much of our day was consumed by the 316 mile drive down Interstate 5 from Rocklin, and then highway 58 to Bakersfield, just shy of L.A. This was actually the first sunny day to ever drive the rig, and the second longest driving day so far. The drive was great, even by highway standards. I prefer back-roads and scenic highways, but today it didn’t matter. It was all good. Today was different - for us anyway.

Highway 58 brings you into Bakersfield through its back door. You drive through a lot of farming country, so when you approach Bakersfield from this direction, as opposed to Hwy 99, you get a sense that it’s a small town, then it creeps up on you as you continue east through the outlying communities. I was immediately surprised how large the city really is - I’m told about one million people live in the area.

Our trip to Bakersfield is to specifically to catch up with airbrush painter Craig Fraser and see what’s new and kewl at his shop, aka Air Syndicate. He’s got an well equipped and exciting shop, and tons of kewl memorabilia.More importantly, he backs it up with talent and great ideas. We’ll share more on his shop soon and it’s happenings in the next few days, along with some great pics. In the interim, click here to visit Craig’s site.

Deborah Mayan was working on some projects; a fanatic NASCAR style mural, and some pin-up girls on panel, but took time out to show us her proto-type designs for the newest, soon to be released, Artool templates in her Pin-Up Girlie series. These ones will be called the Old School Tattoo Girlies. She was on her way out of town, but promises to share more stuff with us soon (maybe really soon).

By time their work day was ready for a close, and we’d set up, it was dinner time, so off to dinner it was. We discovered real western food at Buck Owens Crystal Palace, a restaurant owned by noted country musician Buck Owens. It was a one-of-a-kind dining experience, and an interesting place to boot. The meal was huge, and the blackened catfish was great.

Well, that’s it for tonight folks.

~A.D.

Sunday evening made for a short drive north from Sacramento to Rocklin, California, and a long overdue visit with old friends. We don’t get to see Steve and Sharon often - maybe every couple years or so - so we were long overdue for some time together. Steve and I go waaaaay back… all the way to high school. We rented an apartment together back in 1978-79 in Oregon - what we lacked in furniture, we made up for in stereo equipment and loud music. I digress - we’ve come a long way since then. Ironically, Steve and I have tread common ground in some regards; we’ve both spent years in the graphic design industry, and we both enjoy painting with the airbrush. Steve however, went on to run a graphics department at one of California’s better learning institutions. He is also the creator of the Ranger Ralph comic books. Check the Ranger Ralph web site here and you can catch some of his automotive airbrush work here.

We had a great time visiting with Steve and Sharon, and their kids. We ganged up on the rig, and gave it a bath - its first, even though the sun had set a couple hours earlier. Washing anything in the dark can lead to less than predictable results, but no matter what areas we might have missed, the rig looked a ton better than it did before. The Oregon rain over the previous month-and-a-half, combined with the six hundred mile drive from Portland left quite a mess on the rig, so with a quick decision and a little action, I was on roof of the rig with a mop and hose. Later we were treated to a night of electricity and dry camping in a gated community (probably the quietest night of our RV experience to date, and slept great). The following morning, Sharon treated us with great home-made vanilla lattes, which made my morning start off with a kick. Not a bad combination; great friends, a clean rig, and a new day.

~A.D.

Kathy and I departed Portland, Oregon on Friday morning around 9AM and with the exception of a couple pit-stops and typical breaks, drove straight through to Sacramento. The 600 miles took a bit longer than I had anticipated, rolling us into Sacramento close to 11PM. We stopped in on Gabe from Artool Products for a two-day layover. Gabe offered us a place to park and catch up on some much needed rest. We watched a couple movies (including the 1985 classic “Lost In America”, starring Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty), and talked a lot about art, and before I forget… enjoyed some great fish and chips and a cold brew at an english style pub in Sac called The Streets of London. Gabe and I have been there before, but it was about four years ago, so I was ready for an overdue return. I was glad that it was as good as I remembered.

Gabe did share a couple things with us that he’s excited about; namely, the forthcoming Pin-Up Girlies 2 templates by Deborah Mahan, the Tiki Master templates by Dennis Mathewson, and the Tribal Master templates by Steve Vandemon. There’s also a special limited edition of Kustom templates in the works designed by Craig Fraser. It’ll include a special template not available anywhere else. I’m also told that black etched leather is involved (very cool). Look for it in the fall, but remember, you heard it here first. There’s also some new Lavallee templates in the works - more True Fire for you fans of flame. It seems there’s a lot of kewl stuff happening at Artool’s Chemtox Labs. But a lot of what they’re developing is top secret for now, and there are far too many scurvy pirates in the harbor (regardless of the flags they fly) to share it all here - LOL. You can always learn more at ArtoolProducts.com though.

Our friends Lew and Sylvia invited us to spend our last night in Portland with them. Remember, this project started here - our 38′ RV in their 39’ driveway, and parked just inches from their rain gutter. Sylvia is a wonderful cook and in her loving way, she prepared the most fabulous (authentic) German style dinner for us. We feasted on pork loin and home made saurkraut, beets, and more all dished up with love, laughs and song. There are few things in life more joyful than breaking bread with the dear ones in your life before a long journey. Ah - getting all kindsa misty now.

We passed over the Siskyous without seeing as much snow as we expected. Shasta was blanketed in dark clouds which made it ethereal and beautiful in a way I’ve never seen it before. Before long, we were in Sacramento and on our way to see Gabe McCubbin of Artool. We arrived at his house at about 11pm and visted and laughed until the late hours (or early, depending on your perspective).

~Kathy

Today we’re leaving the comfort of the RV park where we’ve stayed for the last three weeks while acclimating to a full-time RV lifestyle and prepared for our journey. Despite the unusually high rainfall and winter skies, we’ve really enjoyed our layover in Woodburn, which is just a few miles south of the Portland area. The managers and visitor are very friendly and accommodating here. There is wireless internet access available, a large game room, and an outdoor swimming pool, which we’ll look forward to enjoying on a return trip sometime. The main shower room is huge, and there’s a second one by the pool - both are very clean and well maintained (and water pressure was great). Coffee is brewing in the office all day long, but if you’re a Starbucks fan, there’s one near the park’s entrance. The new Woodburn Company Stores (a large outlet mall) is just a short stone’s throw from our hook-up with special gate access. There’s a Quiznos sandwich shop and Elmer’s just across the parking lot, along with an Arbys and Jack In The Box for anyone wanting something a little faster. A huge Wal-Mart store is just across the freeway – along with more places to grab a good (or quick) meal - all within walking distance. For car guys, the infamous Woodburn Drag Strip is just around the corner.

If you find yourself in an RV traveling along the I-5 corridor in Oregon, be sure to turn off at Exit 271 and visit Woodburn RV. Thanks guys, we’ve enjoyed ourselves here and well - we’ll probably be back some time later this year.

The anticipation as we close in our date of depart is unbelievable. We’ve been preparing and packing, discarding the unneeded, and doing everything we can think of to get as ready as we can for the day we set sail. Sure, we probably missed a few things along the way - it’s not like we could find a manual on “Selling the farm and hitting the road”. No matter, the day we’ve waited for, and prepared for, has arrived. We are heading south… way south. Over the next few days we’ll head into Southern California; aka “So Cal”. We’ll meet up with some amazing talent along the way, and as promised, we’ll introduce them to you.

Obviously, we’re more than excited about the journey and people that lie ahead. And I don’t just mean the artists - I mean everyone. Low altitude travel is the best way to see and experience life at ground level. We don’t believe in “fly over” country. There’s too much to see, and this country has a lot to offer. Our journey is to meet up with artists, but there’s also a lot to see and share along the way. AirbrushTour.com is about both; the Airbrush and the Tour. It’s time now, for us to put this rig in DRIVE — Friday morning is departure day. We’ll keep you informed along the way. Enjoy the ride.

~A.D.

Legendary airbrush artist Dennis Mathewson of Cosmic Custom Airbrush in Hawaii, was traveling through Portland today between teaching gigs, so we had just enough time to catch up with him over lunch. Also joining us were Will Naemura and Gary Glass from Iwata Medea, and Mark Thomas from ALSA Paints, making for a table of five.

It was a stimulating conversation over fish and chips at Portland’s famous East Bank Saloon. A number of exciting ideas were tossed around and we’ll keep you posted as they materialize. We intend to catch up with Dennis at his studio in Honolulu at some point in the future. Stay tuned - in the meantime stop by his web site and get your eye-full of great art at http://www.cosmicairbrush.com.

Pictured left to right are: Will, Dennis, Gary and A.D.

Well, we think we’re at our one week countdown for departure - T minus 7 and counting. If everything goes as planned, we’ll departure Oregon next Thursday and head south to Sacramento and onward to the So Cal/Los Angeles area for a while. We’ll meet up with some of California’s hottest talent and see what’s new and hot in custom painting for 2006!

In the meantime, we’re still enduring the Oregon rainfall while we wrap up some last-minute details. Last night’s news mentioned that we’ve had 13.52″ of rainfall from December 18 to January 17th, and of course, more is still expected. Fortunately, just not as much as we’ve grown accustomed to lately. The weatehr experts promise weaker storms and dryer days ahead, which, loosely translated means “normal Oregon weather”. That’s okay, since we typically get a couple wet days, followed by a couple dry days and so on. You can at least get out on occasion, do something and stay at least reasonably dry. I get the sense that nobody will miss the Amazon-like rainfall and solid skies of gray we’ve been experiencing this past month. This will be a winter to remember — not for its cold, but definitely for the wet.

Enough with the weather chat. We’re ready to get this show on the road!

Hey, my painting titled FOR SHOW is currently featured on the covers of the Southwest and California editions of Quick Throttle magazine. You can pick up your copy of Quick Throttle at most finer motorcycle shops, or you can catch the article online. FOR SHOW was previously featured on the cover of Quick Throttle Northwest Edition in June 2005.

Click here to view more of A.D.’s motorcycle series of paintings.

Click here to visit Quick Throttle Magazine

Well, it looks like the weather guys were caught by surprise, and we’re not complaining. Beautiful clouds made for an unexpected afternoon delight and a fantastic day of decent skies. Tonight’s sunset was incredible, and I thought it worth sharing (just to show that Oregon isn’t ‘always’ gray).

Tomorrow’s forecast is gray and rain.

Enjoy…

Well, it seems like all we talk about around here anymore is the rain. That’s because in the last 26 days Portland has received 12 inches of rain, accounting for about half our annual rainfall, and 280% of average for the year so far. If it sounds like I’m exaggerating… well, I’m not - tonight’s weather report confirms 12.14″ of rainfall since Dec 18 to today (Jan 13). As a comparison, last year we only had two inches in the same timeframe. And the fun part… no sight in end. The Willamette River in Portland is at its highest level in three years, but has yet to crest the walls downtown! Most other rivers have flooded the area long ago. The ground is just muck and mud everywhere, with waterlogged soil and over-filled rivers. It’s amazing, even by Oregon standards. I don’t mean to dwell on the weather. After-all, this Blog is about airbrush art - but until we depart, oars in hand, weather is the subject du jour. Personally, we’re tired of it too, and we’re more than ready to see something other than gray skies - hey, I’d settle for seeing a few clouds and a hint of blue skies even, but lately, it’s just solid gray, gray, gray.

My hope is that forthcoming posts will be about art, talent and travel. After all this gray, I’m going to be more than ready to show color, and lots of it!

Cheers to you all.

We’ve received a couple requests for an AirbrushTour banner. As you can imagine, we’ve been a bit busy here in preparation of the forthcoming trip. Well, I finally got a chance to create one for distribution . I intend to create a Banners Page with more banner designs soon. Once we get rolling, we’ll have move imagery to work with to, so the banners will get colorful, and we’ll start adding pics and articles to the site. Until then, here’s a first banner for starters. Click here.

Please link the above banner to http://www.airbrushtour.com — Thanks.

You can add your own banner to AirbrushTour.com by clicking any of the AdBrite banners on this site (see “Your ad here” banners) or clicking the ‘Your Ad Here’ links. Relevant content links only please; airbrush, art and artists, art supplies, art magazines, etc.