Paul Elias
Ottawa • 20+years striping • @Elias_Pinstriping_Ottawa
I remembered seeing pinstriping done in the 80’s when I was a teenager but the guy wouldn’t let me watch him work. Made him nervous he said.Fast forward to 2002 when I was at a car show in Scottsdale AZ watching Jake from Jake’s Pinstriping pull some lines on a few cars. I approached him when he was finished the one he was working on and asked him a few questions. To my surprise and delight, he was very open and informative! He gave me two points of contact, Mack Brush and 1 Shot paint. When I returned home from that car show, I dialed up my PC and a few clicks later, brushes, books videos were in the mail. I read those books cover to cover several times. I found some 1-Shot paint in the city and once I had all the ingredients, a local body shot provided a damaged part suitable for a practice surface. The day I brought it home my wife asked me what I was doing with the fender. I said I’m going to learn how to pinstripe and headed to the basement. Since then, I still head to the basement to paint and I still try to learn something new everyday. Be it from a new book, DVD, tutorial or course, it’s all great stuff and adds to the experience. Through this craft, I’ve met a lot of great people, made great friends and helped a lot of people. If I keep at it, hell, someday I might even be a good pinstriper!
The first piece of art I fell in love with was by Tramp Warner, the 50 Merc hanging on the wall wall at Mack Brush. That dagger style with some curves in it really inspired me. Then I saw Steve Chaszeyka’s work, both dagger and scroll and I was hooked! I wasted a lot of paint, lol! Lately, I’m very inspired by the Lowrider scene.
Most memorable project: I’ve had the opportunity to work on a lot of really nice cars and bikes but the piece I’m the most proud of was a mini fridge I painted to look like a safe. I donated it to the charity auction held in Syracuse NY during Artie’s Party. The winning bidder was Gene Winfield! That was pretty cool!
Advice for beginners: There’s a lot of information about pinstriping out there. Take advantage of it. Study art that catches your eye. When you don’t have time to paint, draw designs and keep the ones you like and pull inspiration from those patterns. When you do finally put brush to paint, be patient. It’s all about the palleting.
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