The Birth of Nineopus

"The Birth of Nineopus" acrylic, ink and spray paint / 2011

My most recent project involving paint is for The Skateboard Art Show at Octane Gallery inside Kustom Thrills Tattoo in East Nashville.  Drop by Sunday for the opening reception or when you're on that side of The Big Nasty this month!

I'd never painted a skateboard before this bad boy, so I was pretty stoked at the idea of the project.  I've never really hesitated to paint anything that's crossed my path.  Ironically despite playing with found wood, vinyl toys, records, tables, walls, license plates, signs and even bricks- I'd never gotten around to covering a deck.  I liked the idea of painting an old used board that had character.  Something like this should be re-purposed since it probably will get hung, not rode.  I made a call via Facebook for anyone with one they could part with and followed up to some prints for not only this deck but my next project now.. a very retro surfboard!

I honestly had no idea what I was going to paint on the deck.  I just knew that I needed to cover the hokey skull with wings which occupied it's finish before.  The surface was already beat up thoroughly enough to skip sanding her down.  I got started with some spray paint.

After musing my running base colors for a couple of days, I kept seeing tentacles so that's where Nineopus was conceived!

What came first, The Nineopus or The Egg?