Joshua Vides sees issues in black and white.
And with the ability of an illusionist and a mind for twisted artwork, the Left Coaster’s handiwork is drawing the eye of funky automotive fanatics all over the place — from the Metropolis of Angels to town that doesn’t sleep.
“I got here up with this 2D model that makes use of black-and-white paint to make a three-dimensional [vehicle] appear to be its unique sketch,” Vides, a 35-year-old graphic designer from Southern California, instructed The Submit.
Vides embraces what he calls his “Actuality to Thought” approach to make wild, car-encased artwork that appears two-dimensional — prefer it simply rolled off the humorous pages of a newspaper — and which, relying on the dimensions of the auto he makes use of for a canvas, can take upward of 200 hours throughout two months to finish.
And he’s introduced his comedian strip-inspired optical illusions to the Huge Apple.
For his “Test Engine Gentle” present — a free fête, working by Tuesday, Might 6, at 16 Morton St. within the West Village — Vides used practically 10 gallons of black-and-white paint and spent greater than 168 hours reworking a 1995 26-foot stretch limousine and a 1991 Honda CBR 1000RR motorbike into ’toon-tastic treats for the eyes.
He’s already offered the look-at-me limo — a $10,000 funding — to a neighborhood automotive collector for “a lot, a lot” extra money than he spent making the sketchy renovations.
“It’s an extended course of, however I’m tremendous tremendous pleased with my work,” mentioned Vides, a former Riverside County, California, firefighter/EMT. He walked away from the firehouse within the early 2010s to pursue artwork as a full-time gig.
Now a married father of three, Vides mentioned his profession change from emergency response to 2D innovation has “completely modified” his life for the higher.
“I’m actually lucky to inform tales by my artwork,” he gushed. “I don’t simply paint any automotive — I must have a particular connection to every automotive that I paint.”
A staunch Y2K-era film buff, the millennial procures classic cars in working situation — sizzling wheels paying homage to automobiles featured in a couple of of his favourite flicks — then strips them of their unique paint jobs, covers them in white acrylic and decks them out with black particulars.
His masterful makeover provides every chariot a flattened, but flashy, end.
To offer the limo a doodle-like redo, as an illustration, Vides overhauled its inside and exterior with black-and-white colours, plus new upholstery, tires and brilliant lights.
He selected to revamp the swanky shuttle, for which he paid $3,000, in a cartoonish homage to Kevin McCallister’s candy stretch limo in “Residence Alone 2″ — a ’90s basic Vides watched religiously as a child.
“The complete undertaking took 144 hours to finish over two weeks,” he mentioned of the freaky face-lift.
Preserving true to an achromatic theme, the trailblazer shelled out an extra $7,000 to professional upholsterers and automotive detailers, tasking them with producing inside decor that matched his black-and-white masterwork — and created an optimum setting for selfies, after all.
“Folks can sit inside and get a photograph or video,” mentioned Vides, including, nevertheless, that the 30-year-old limo is “too fragile” to take for enjoyable spins by visitors.
The identical goes for his picture-esque bike.
“It was really more durable to color than the limo,” he mentioned of the early-Nineties motorbike. It’s a sizzling rod just like the two-wheelers seen within the 2002 motion thriller “Paid in Full” — one other one in every of Vides’ best-loved blockbusters.
He paid $2,000 for the cruiser — then spent two 12-hour shifts sanding off its unique fiery purple paint job.
“I needed to take all of the panels off the bike and paint each individually,” Vides defined, telling The Submit that repainting a complete motorbike as a unit may harm its engine and brakes.
“Then, I painted the panels white, allow them to dry for twenty-four hours, added the black particulars, allow them to dry,” he mentioned of the painstaking course of. The ultimate step earlier than packing them up for his or her cross-country journey was including clear-coat sealant, a clear layer of paint that shields the auto’s physique from environmental harm and provides a shiny shine.
It price him $5,000 to ship each autos from LA to NYC.
However the 2D tastemaker mentioned making his artwork isn’t about cash — it’s concerning the freedom of being unapologetically avant-garde.
“I don’t stress about success or having a certain quantity of individuals to come back to my present,” Vides insisted. “It’s extra essential that I’m proud of the work I get to showcase.
“If different individuals prefer it, that’s simply sort of a bonus.”
Joshua Vides’ “Test Engine Gentle” runs Might 1 by 6 on the Morton St. Companions at 16 Morton St. Storage. Free admission.
