Commissioned custom skate deck art of Rick Rubin.

Commission

I was asked by a private deck collector if I would create a specific board for them based on an idea of theirs. The specs were pretty open: a painting of Rick Rubin. No other constraints.  

So, I looked around at paintings made by others of him and I landed upon a photo by photographer Robbie Fimmano for Interview Magazine back in 2010. This was for an interview of him by RHCP’s Anthony Kiedis. Incredible. 

The reference photo seems instantly iconic even considering this was only a few years ago. I cut the search short because I felt that it best represented the persona and captures the confidence and experience he has in creating the most amazing albums and bands of the last few decades, including that of the Beastie Boys, Madonna, Metallica, Weezer, LL Cool J., Run DMC, and many more. 

I chose a greyscale palette, and painted a base of several layers of enamel in a way that created a chaotic and crackly crazing effect. Over that is acrylic brushwork with high flow paints and inks. Then the details were added with a scratch board style. A slight wash of sepia is visible, as well. Topped off with a glossy magazine style varnish, it was complete.

The video clip is during the varnish process.

This was my first commission this year and I enjoyed the challenge and the process.

Thank you, Chris, for letting me share this one.

• Commissioned one-off original
• Four coats of acrylic varnish with spot gloss and matt varnish details
• Custom, American-made, hard rock maple deck
• 8” wide x 30” long
• Each deck comes with our custom Floating Cream Skate Hanger made from Skatelite with stainless hardware (Instructions)