Beach strokes
It may be 90 degrees in his open-air shop by the beach, but airbrush artist Ricardo Gonzalez doesn’t mind.
When the spray gun is in his hand, “Ricky” Gonzalez is in a world all his own. The stream of blue paint sprays out so fast and in such small particles it’s invisible to the eye, but the color appears on the shirt like magic.
“I did it as a hobby that went out of control,” he said with a chuckle, his hand steadily guiding the gun.
Gonzalez’s passion for airbrush began 30 years ago while he was with his family on Coney Island. The Brooklyn native saw a crowd gathered around a man who was spray painting shirts. Gonzalez watched, mesmerized, and forgot the time – two hours passed and his family was looking for the then 16-year-old.
In that moment, he knew he wanted to pursue airbrushing.
Back in “those days,” there weren’t videos on YouTube for Gonzalez to learn from. He learned by reading books and watching others, perfecting his skill by trial and error.
“I’m self-taught. It took me years to get here,” said the now-47-year old. “People give up so quickly because they don’t know the mechanics of it.”
He dabbled in tattoo artistry, too, but Gonzalez, who has a 7-year-old daughter Desiree, said he prefers airbrushing because it can be enjoyed by everyone, not just adults. He moved to Fort Myers Beach in 2010.
Gonzalez has been creating Floridian airbrush t-shirts inside the Teeki Hut for three years but says his “cartoon work” just pays the bills.
The true art comes from custom orders. His business is called RG Airbrush Designs.
From t-shirts and shoes, canvases and murals, or vehicle details and helmet decorations, Gonzalez can airbrush it all. His attention to detail and precise strokes add a unique flair to his work.
Taking custom orders both in and out of his shop gives him a pretty good idea of pop culture trends:
“This year, Star Wars was a big thing,” he said. “Then it was Angry Birds. Now it’s Pokmon Go.”
Interacting with customers is his favorite part of the job, besides the creativity airbrushing gives him daily.
“I meet people from all over the world here,” he said.
Customers bring him photos and he does the work for them, and some of them come back year after year while vacationing on the beach. Depending on the design and size of the project, it could take him less than an hour or a couple days to complete.
“I get involved in a project and the whole world shuts down,” he said.