Gerard Blommaert loved horses. Or at least he did when he started to draw them when he was 5 years old. But after his family moved from Europe to Edmonton, Alberta, Gerard got to see his first '56 Chevy. And at age 6 or so, he was hooked and his fascination shifted from horses to horsepower. Much later, he spent a couple of years in a body shop, where he slung Bondo, shaped metal, and started to learn the fine art of painting flames. But the dirt-free and creative call of art school lured him away to Salt Lake City, where he attended Utah Technical College at Salt Lake (where he learned the fine art of automotive design and where he met his wife). That was more than 30 years ago.
Much of Gerard's work involves project renderings. Take, for example, this Grim Reaper that he drew for a retired firefighter friend who apparently never lost his fascination with smoke and fire. It's a one-ton farm truck that perhaps plowed too deeply and uncovered terra infernos. Molded skull lamps overlook flames that sear the black body but only hint at the pyrotechnics blasting from the propane flamethrowers and smoke-maker in the bed. What you can't discern from the picture is the possibility that skulls will glow inside the body's flames. The motor is a 350ci V-8 that acquired electronic fuel injection. Old-school wheels tuck when the 'bagged suspension is laid out.
Gerard prefers to work on '50s customs when he takes the time for his own projects. This truck is no classic, however. It's an F-150 Lightning-inspired truck that's a mild custom, another project concept rendered to explore the possibilities of the two-tone paint job, suspension drop, and other minor mods.
Project renderings aren't the extent of Gerard's work. His car art shows up on T-shirts, event posters, and other mediums. He has even been paid to step away from the sketch pad and try his hand at painting flame graphics on trucks and motorcycles, and otherwise exercise some of his other body-working skills (e.g., metalworking, etc.) on his own personal projects and those of his friends. It looks like he does fine work either way.
Contact Gerard Graffix At:
(780) 468-7240
gerardgraffix@telusplanet.net
www.gerardgraffix.com