A Mini Infection

After the piano, I was hungry for more!  It had been a whole new experience Infecting something of that size and shape, but when summertime arrived, it brought with it my largest solo project to date- the fibreglass Mini! 

I'd worked with club promoter and dj Mark 'Chinny' Davis before, creating artwork for him when he ran the nightclub 'Blue' a few years back.  It had, without a doubt, the best music, people and vibes on offer in Blackpool at the time and in return for the work I did, I was taken to  Switzerland and then Barcelona for the Snow/Beachbombing festivals, where I had some of the best experiences of my life and met some amazing people.  

So when Chinny rang me up and said he was putting on an outdoor event sponsored by the BMW dealers Lloyds and there was the chance to Infect a full size fibre glass Mini, I jumped at the chance!

The plan was, for me to go down to the dealers a couple of weeks before and make a start on painting the car in the workshop, which had been masked off and sprayed for me.  The car would then be brought down to the event (called 'Al Fresco-presented by YoMoFo') on the day and I would finish it off as people watched. 

Unfortunately, in typical British fashion, the weather ruined the day and the event was cancelled.  I however, (also in typical fashion!), continued Infecting the car as though nothing had changed and finished it off in a week.

Using a couple of sizes of black Posca pens, it was an absolute joy to work on its shiny surface in my usual way- making it up as I went along, allowing the design to come naturally.  

I first worked on the right hand side, from back to front, going in all guns blazing with the techness, contained within big chunky lines. 

I then worked on the back, changing it up a bit with less detail and daintier  lines.  In parts, where the shape of the car curved the most, the paint would flick off a little as I blew the dust off it!  It never bothered me though, I was having way too much fun!  I just painted those bits back in and carried on. 

When I came to work on the left hand side, I was greeted with some different details, like the petrol tank cover.  It felt natural to paint within its round shape and turn it into a homage to pacman, much to the delight of one of the lads working there!  

I finished off the left side panels, then started on the roof.  I began with my signature black dripping ink, then got out the largest of the Poscas and made some huge, sweeping lines across its amazingly smooth surface.  (I think I was smiling the whole time I worked on this bit, as I was stood on two BMW X5 tyres stacked up, so I could reach!)

Easily the best surface I've worked on so far, or rather, my favourite!
Massive thanks to Chinny for getting me involved and to Michelle Walker at Lloyds BMW Dealers for making the project happen.  I'll be taking part in Chinny's next 'Al Fresco' event in Blackpool on June 3rd- for details, follow the facebook page here http://www.facebook.com/yomofo.alfresco

And for Lloyds BMW dealers click here
http://www.lloydblackpoolbmw.co.uk/