Anytime I drive down Fairbanks this Funeral Hearse covered with graffiti always catches my eye. I finally decided to stop and do a sketch. The Hearse acts as a sort of billboard for Black Chapel Tattoo in Winter Park.
It was painted by Ken Deft from Pittsburg in about 4 hours. I found out that Black Chapel had moved however to downtown Orlando. The owner of Black Chapel Tattoo, Eli Tobias, accused Winter Park officials of running him out of town. After harassment for nearly a year from Winter Park Police, Tobias decided to move the shop to downtown Orlando.
As I sat doing this sketch a few people wandered by on the sidewalk that I was sitting on. Everyone seemed a bit down and out yet they seemed to appreciate what I was doing. One couple asked “Hey, are you a tattoo artist?” I shouted, “No”over the roar of traffic. A rather disheveled man in a red shirt and a beard who looked homeless, placed his hand on my shoulder, then subtly patted several times and smiled down at me. Without saying a word, he quietly walked away.
2 thoughts on “The Hearse”
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I've known Eli for over a decade now… really good guy… I hope the business does well in it's new space.
The new space is pristine, state of the art.