Hi, and welcome to my site, and to my art. I think for you to understand where I’m at today as a Kustom Kulture artist, you should first know a little about the path that got me here.

I was born in Chicago and grew up on the Northwest side in the 1960’s and 70’s, the heyday of the Muscle car era. Now, Chicago in the late 60’s was a gearhead’s dream and having an older brother that dabbled in pinstriping, lettering and an interest in hot rods and motorcycles planted “the seed” in a very young and impressionable brain. My formative years were spent in a city that not only hosted some of the top cruise spots like Skip’s Fiesta, Henry’s, Franksville and Super Dawg on Milwaukee, but also Nickey Chevrolet and Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge, truly hallowed ground of the Midwest street and drag racing scene.

It was a time of color, sparkling metal flake, mile deep kandies, pearls, fades and pinstripes, jacked up cars with sinister names lettered and air brushed on quarter panels, chrome and more chrome, the sound of a high lift cam and a 4-speed, glass packs (by Iggy’s, if you were cool) and the smell of high test Sunoco and tire smoke. With this much sensory overload and a love of art, my fate had been sealed; I had to be part of the show.

Over the span of my career, I have had the good fortune to work with and learn from some of the best paint and body men in the business. To name a few: Scary Larry, John Finnegan, Jim Kovak, and Vince at The Paint Spot, for whom the spray gun holds no secret. I learned valuable lessons from each on producing quality work, but there is one in the group that has influenced me and challenged my ability, and without his help I would be a lesser artist. Rick “Bendi” aka “Bendi the Stroke” has been a friend and mentor for some 20 odd years and was kind enough to put a struggling sign painter/pinstriper on the right path. He showed me the tips and tricks on how to swing a brush, along with design and layout, because back then no one shared ANY secrets! I’m proud to say that we still collaborate on quite a few projects together from faux finishes and wall murals in homes and businesses to restoration lettering on vintage race cars.

Throughout the years, I have laid down a lot of 1-Shot lettering enamel on just about everything you can imagine, from coffee cups to coffins, from pedal cars to million dollar race cars. I’ve worked for rich guys, famous guys and everyday working guys like myself. My work has been seen in over 30 national and international magazines, books, newspapers, calendars and even on TV. Custom motorcycles sporting my work have won every major custom show from coast to coast. Now that’s all cool, I guess, but that’s just what happens when you take your art and craft seriously.

So please, sit back and check out my work. We do a variety of things from complete paint jobs to pinstriping (influenced by Von Dutch and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth), airbrushing, lettering, gold and silver leaf, faux finishes and wall murals for home and commercial. If you allow us to work for you on your next project, be assured that it will be done to the highest standards, and to the very best of our abilities…….GUARANTEED!

Big Nick