Curtis Ashby: Bringing Birds and Beauty to Washington’s Murals

Meet Curtis Ashby, a cool artist who paints big murals and loves bird art. Curtis talks about how mural art is big in Washington and how it brings people together.

Curtis explains that murals last a long time, like 10 to 20 years, which shows how strong this art is in Washington. He also talks about working with cities and groups like Spaceworks. This helps artists and business people team up and make their towns more colorful and fun.

He shares how he plans his art projects at the start of the year. It’s neat to learn how much thought goes into making these big, beautiful murals. Curtis also likes it when his clients give him some ideas for the mural, but he adds his own touch to it. This mix makes each mural special and tells a story.

Curtis really loves birds and nature. He puts this love into his art as a way to remember his grandma. This makes his murals even more special and meaningful.

Curtis talks about a big project he did near Tacoma Community College. It was tough to get it all set up, but he worked with the community and made it happen.

Curtis likes to paint with friends and help other artists. This shows how artists help each other and make their community better. He also talks about the tools and skills he uses to make his murals just right.

The podcast shows how Curtis’ art is more than just painting walls. It’s about stories, working together, and making places beautiful. You’ll want to hear more about how Curtis and other artists are making Washington an awesome place full of art!

Connect With Curtis Ashby

Visit his website

Find him on Instagram

Checkout Northwest Till Death

Look at his Facebook

Curtis Ashby Episode Transcript

Hello friends, and welcome to the exploring Washington State podcast. My name is Scott Cowan, and I’m the host

Scott Cowan [00:00:09]:

of the show. Each episode, I

Scott Cowan [00:00:11]:

have a conversation with an interesting guest

Scott Cowan [00:00:13]:

who is living in or from Washington Scott. These are casual conversations with real and interesting people. I think you’re gonna like the show. So let’s jump right in with today’s guest. So I’m sitting down with Curtis Ashby today. Curtis is a painter. He’s got other things going on, but I Found out about him through my daughter, Mackenzie. She said, hey.

Scott Cowan [00:00:37]:

There’s this guy. Does really cool stuff. He sent me You sent her a beanie, right, for your brand?

Curtis Ashby [00:00:43]:

Yep. I sent her yeah. Yeah. A beanie and a shirt.

Scott Cowan [00:00:47]:

Okay. So the reason I’m saying the beanie is so The other and it’s yellow. Right? Yellow beanie? Mhmm. Right. So the other day, I’m so people listen to this regularly know that my daughter lives in Austria. And so, and my granddaughter lives in Austria. It’s funny how that works. Right? Anyway, the other day, I’m on a Skype call with with them.

Scott Cowan [00:01:07]:

We’re talking, and and My granddaughter’s in in the on the camera, and she’s wearing a yellow beading. I go, that’s a cool hat. Where’d you get that? McKenzie goes, oh, Curtis sent that to me. That’s the hat I Tell you about Lilly stole it from me. So I’m like, oh, okay. Cool. So I’m you know, anyway. So we’re gonna talk about your brand and all that, but let’s get started.

Scott Cowan [00:01:26]:

So Why don’t you share with the audience kind of how you got into this? You because you’re known for doing murals, right, and a lot of bird stuff. So I think that I got 2 big questions. Why murals and why birds?

Curtis Ashby [00:01:44]:

Yeah. Those those are questions I get a lot, actually.

Scott Cowan [00:01:47]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:01:49]:

So I started out, Well, probably about 10 years back, I had a, art gallery in Seattle, And it was just a a small gallery in, Greenwood. Okay. And I I, I did that for a little while, and then I I decided that I wanted to start doing murals. And so I, I sold the gallery to a friend and Just focus started focusing on murals, and I just started having a I started painting birds and then just sort of grew into just it was more than just drawing them. I I started having a passion about Birds in general. Just I would paint a bird and then start recognizing it. And, you know, it’s kinda like you kind of the, like, the red car thing. You know? You you see a red Cowan,

Scott Cowan [00:02:46]:

and all

Curtis Ashby [00:02:46]:

of a sudden, you see, you know, hundreds of red cars. So I I would paint a bird, and then I would see that bird everywhere. And so that kinda got me into to the bird watching. And so the more I did that, the more I just wanted to paint birds and Scott doing murals.

Scott Cowan [00:03:04]:

But you still didn’t answer the question, though. So here’s the thing. You so you had a gallery. Yeah. And and and first off, you said 10 years ago. Were you 12? Because you look like you’re about 18, Cowan. You don’t look very old. So, you know, I got this vision of you, you know okay.

Scott Cowan [00:03:18]:

Anyway, I kid. But well, no. Because you do look really young. But you started you had a gallery in Greenwood. Alright. That’s cool. But then you said you you decided you wanted to start painting murals. So once again, Why murals? I mean, what what is it about a mural that was drawn you were drawn to?

Curtis Ashby [00:03:36]:

I feel like murals are A way just to it’s like a like a billboard, essentially. And so I feel like it’s a billboard for my art, And it’s it’s it’s a way for me to put my art on a big stage for everyone to see and also just share it with the community. It’s Murals and art is a way to to brighten the community and just share art. And, Early on, I was inspired by seeing murals in different cities and just, thinking about the artist that created these and just being, You know, inspired in a way that, like, oh, I maybe I Cowan do that someday.

Scott Cowan [00:04:15]:

Okay. So before murals, what type of art were you creating?

Curtis Ashby [00:04:20]:

I was creating smaller works mostly on wood and canvas, and I yeah. That’s kinda how it started out, just just Painting small things, and then it took a little bit of brain effort to translate the small Scaled, work into a large mural because it’s it’s really it’s a little bit of a different process just Expanding it so so large like that.

Scott Cowan [00:04:46]:

That’s why I wanted to ask because it’s like if you were used to painting on, you know, let’s say, a Standard canvas size. Right? Let’s say, you know, poster size, 2 foot by 3 foot. You know? Alright. And then now all of a sudden you’re painting something. I saw one of your murals is 200 feet long. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So so that’s a massive shift in scale.

Scott Cowan [00:05:07]:

Right. And you can go to, you know, I’ll say Hobby Lobby. Sorry. But, you know, you can go to Hobby Lobby and buy canvas. That’s easy. It’s but you can’t Go to an art store and buy a building to paint on. I mean, you you gotta you gotta how does one practice murals, I guess, is the next question I have For you is how did you get how did you convince that 1st building owner to say, yeah. You can do this?

Curtis Ashby [00:05:38]:

It was, you know, it was a little tricky convincing, like, early on, because I didn’t have a lot of, Work in my portfolio that showed that I Cowan paint large scale. You know? So little bit of trust, a little bit of, you know, marketing on my side and just kind of just, you know, just kind of Showing or just, you know I’m trying to think of the word. Just Little charisma. You know? Just just kind of, show them or tell them that I could do it and then figuring out how to do it After that.

Scott Cowan [00:06:18]:

So you were lying to them. Let’s be Oh, yeah. Yeah. You were lying to them, and then it’s okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:06:22]:

That’s that’s kinda what art’s about. You know? You gotta you gotta sell yourself first and then, Prove that you can do it later. So

Scott Cowan [00:06:30]:

so many so many of the people that I know that are artists, dear friends of mine. Like okay. So it it and I I have a fear that a couple of them are gonna listen to this episode, and I’m what I’m about to say is insulting. I don’t want them to be insulted, but they’re gonna be insulted. Is they’re terrible business people. They’re they’re they don’t want to do That. They they want to do the art. Getting them to price a piece is Scott impossible, but feels impossible.

Curtis Ashby [00:07:02]:

It’s like tall teeth.

Scott Cowan [00:07:04]:

Yeah. And I can’t imagine them going out and, you know, quote, unquote, knocking on the door And saying, hey. I wanna paint the side of your building with birds or whatever because they they would just find any reason to not Make that effort because they just wanna paint they just wanna paint, or they just wanna whatever their their specialty is or whatever they love doing. So I applaud you for having the, the cojones to, You know, to put yourself out there and take that risk, I guess at the worst and what would the worst have been? You you you you convince me to paint my building. You don’t do a good job. You paint over it.

Curtis Ashby [00:07:48]:

Sure.

Scott Cowan [00:07:48]:

I mean, that’s really the worst. Right? I mean

Curtis Ashby [00:07:50]:

That Yeah. That’s the cool thing about paint.

Scott Cowan [00:07:53]:

Yeah. You can’t really fail.

Curtis Ashby [00:07:55]:

Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:07:56]:

So you got started doing murals. So when you started the murals, were they birds to begin with, or were you doing other stuff, or is it always been birds?

Curtis Ashby [00:08:04]:

It’s almost always been birds. I I I’ve I was inspired by other Artists and in a way, like tattoo artists. You know, when you see, tattoo artists that show their their work, they only show the best stuff, the The stuff they love doing, and that inspired me, you know, in to only show the work that I love doing. And so that was that was birds. And so the more I showed that I was painting birds, the more more commissions for bird murals I got. And so I kind of, you know, directed, my commission and my audience in in that direction.

Scott Cowan [00:08:45]:

Okay. So let’s go back to the 1st the 1st person that said, yes. You can do a mural on my building. Do you remember that that first first commission?

Curtis Ashby [00:08:54]:

I remember I remember it in high school, I did a a mural. And the the, homeowner reached out to the the art teacher, and, she said, I I want someone to paint a mural on my retaining wall. Right? So I I was selected somehow, and, so I I don’t don’t exactly remember what I painted, but I know that was That was my 1st mural ever.

Scott Cowan [00:09:24]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:09:24]:

And I knew nothing about painting murals, and I don’t think I was very prepared. And that Probably was not a good mural, but, you know, that was, like, my my entrance into

Scott Cowan [00:09:36]:

Was she happy?

Curtis Ashby [00:09:38]:

She was happy.

Scott Cowan [00:09:39]:

She was happy. Then it was a good piece of art.

Curtis Ashby [00:09:42]:

It was a success.

Scott Cowan [00:09:43]:

Yeah. Exactly. If the if the if the client is happy And you were a kid. Mhmm. It’s a win for both. You know? It you know? So that’s awesome. Alright. Now let’s talk about though, like, on your website and and I can’t bounce over there because my browser’s at full screen to do this.

Scott Cowan [00:10:06]:

But, I don’t know I don’t know the name of the building, But it’s where Charlie’s restaurant is is in in Puyallup. Yes. I know that because my parents used to go eat there a Scott, and so Yeah. Familiar with the restaurant and the crowd. How did you get that specific, project?

Curtis Ashby [00:10:25]:

So Hi.

Scott Cowan [00:10:27]:

Didn’t realize there’d be such, like like it’s almost like taking a test. I’m asking you, like

Curtis Ashby [00:10:33]:

No. This is good. This is what the people wanna know.

Scott Cowan [00:10:37]:

Maybe. I wanna know, and it’s my show, so it’s all good.

Curtis Ashby [00:10:43]:

I am actually, friends with the the previous owners. It’s since changed ownership.

Scott Cowan [00:10:50]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:10:50]:

But I knew the people that owned the building, and they were looking to put a mirror on the side of the building. And they reached out to me. And, actually, the the previous owners, they’ve they’ve been supportive of me in my art process since the very beginning, which is Kind of a a cool story. I worked at, Ferrelli’s Pizza

Scott Cowan [00:11:15]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:11:16]:

Long, long time ago

Scott Cowan [00:11:17]:

Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [00:11:18]:

When I was probably 18, 19. And, I had my very first gallery show in Seattle, and the the 2 people that owned Or worked at Charlie’s that I worked with for the the Charlie’s mural. They came up to my gallery show, My very first show ever.

Scott Cowan [00:11:38]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:11:39]:

And so, they reached out just a couple years ago, and they say, hey. We won a mural on the side of our building here, and they kind of just let me do whatever I want. And I worked with the, Peel Main Street Association. Mhmm. And they were super great to work with, And it was just overall great experience, and they gave me so much, control of the project and just kinda said, Here’s couple parameters. And, otherwise, just do what you think would look cool on this wall.

Scott Cowan [00:12:17]:

Okay. So about approximately how big is that project?

Curtis Ashby [00:12:23]:

It was about 30 feet tall And I think close to a 100 feet long

Scott Cowan [00:12:31]:

And so

Curtis Ashby [00:12:32]:

something like that.

Scott Cowan [00:12:32]:

That’s that’s to me, that’s huge. Right? To me, that’s that’s a lot of work. So one of the things that I’m curious about and you know, is the the technical aspects of of of a project. So can we just talk about that building specifically for a few few questions?

Curtis Ashby [00:12:49]:

Absolutely.

Scott Cowan [00:12:51]:

How long From start of paint to end of paint, did that project take?

Curtis Ashby [00:12:59]:

I think it took me about 2 months. K. And that’s because of my I I also work full time, so I I’m working, off hours and weekends.

Scott Cowan [00:13:14]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:13:14]:

And so I’m kinda working around my schedule.

Scott Cowan [00:13:17]:

So how about how many hours of actual Painting, do you think that project took?

Curtis Ashby [00:13:25]:

I think it could it it’s about 40 to 50 hours. Probably about 40 hours.

Scott Cowan [00:13:32]:

Okay. Yeah. So If you’re working 9 to 5, you could have done that in a Monday through in a perfect world. Right? I mean I I’m I’m Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [00:13:40]:

About about a week or so. Yeah. About a

Scott Cowan [00:13:42]:

week or so. Okay. So but I’m oversimplifying it, I think, because you had the design process beforehand. So how long do you think the design process took? Not the not the part with talking to the Main Street Association and getting Getting their buy in and all this. But the actual amount of time you spent conceptualizing it and getting it however Sketched out it’s gonna be, how long do you think that took you?

Curtis Ashby [00:14:10]:

I went through a couple iterations of the piece. I think I probably about I had about 3 different sketches, and each one took me, you know, maybe a couple hours.

Scott Cowan [00:14:23]:

But, Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:14:24]:

There is there is a little bit of, you know, back and forth, and and some of that takes a little bit of time. And I think that The the back and forth process probably took about a month or so just kind of, and we did that all in the the off season when the weather was still, You know, raining and whatnot. So we had we had a little bit of time to to dial things in.

Scott Cowan [00:14:48]:

Okay. So So Oh, let’s say let’s say a a month. Okay? You know? Yeah. So you’re looking at, you know, 5 weeks of, You know, if if you could start this without any delays, you know, 5 weeks of work. Okay. Now the question that I I still That actually seems pretty Scott, to be to be honest. I was expecting you to think to say a little longer. That’s what I was thinking.

Curtis Ashby [00:15:13]:

I’m pretty quick.

Scott Cowan [00:15:15]:

But from Okay. So you’ve got the cons the conceptual drawing that this is this is the one that’s been selected. Okay? Boom. How do you then go from and how big was that drawing, that sketch?

Curtis Ashby [00:15:31]:

I I I sketch on my iPad, so it’s about a

Scott Cowan [00:15:36]:

So not very big?

Curtis Ashby [00:15:37]:

A piece of paper.

Scott Cowan [00:15:38]:

Yeah. Not very big. Okay. So how do you take it from the iPad And blow it up to a 30 foot by 100 foot scale. I mean, are you Are you going out and are you yeah. What’s the what’s the technical that that what do you do because this is actually I’m really curious about this because it’s like, I’m like, I don’t know how you would do that. So what’s that step to get the I I’m I’m sure you gotta get the building primed and, you know, putting a base coat on and and getting it prepared to take paint. Right? Right.

Scott Cowan [00:16:15]:

Yeah. Okay. We’ll skip over that because that’s like watching paint dry. Nobody wants to hear that. But so when you’re ready to, like, Begin the process of taking and bringing the concept to life. How do you go about what’s that? Are you sketching it out on the wall, or are you just working on sections at a time and Hope it comes together, or how’s that work?

Curtis Ashby [00:16:42]:

Well, for me, this is the part that I kinda call the the magic Part.

Scott Cowan [00:16:48]:

Okay. So

Curtis Ashby [00:16:49]:

And so I, I don’t I do it at night, because I use a projector.

Scott Cowan [00:16:57]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:16:57]:

And I have a a high powered projector that projects the image digitally onto the wall. Okay. And And so it projects the full image, and I have the line work

Scott Cowan [00:17:08]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:17:09]:

Laid out. And so you can see on the wall where all the lines are gonna lay.

Scott Cowan [00:17:14]:

Right?

Curtis Ashby [00:17:15]:

And then I have myself and my wife and usually maybe a couple other friends come out, and we just Put the ladders up and start painting the outlines onto the wall. And I I like using pink paint because pink is usually not in the design, but it’s it’s the way I reference the the line work. So everything is is kind of lined out in pink paint, And then, you know, you got your your sketch on the wall, and everything is, you know, proportionate and exactly how I have it on the the line the the drawing, and so it’s good to go. And it only takes us maybe an hour or so to do that. And then, you know, the next morning, everybody wakes up and they Look at the wall, and there’s got a an a line work on the so on the wall. So it’s it’s like magic.

Scott Cowan [00:18:06]:

Does anybody ever call you and go, what Have you done? Because, I mean, I’ll I’ll be honest with you. What I was kinda thinking you were gonna say is something like a projector. That’s I was thinking that. But I wasn’t thinking pink. I was thinking Cowan. And I was thinking more like like the lines of a the outlines of a tattoo or something like that that you would You would do it in black, so the fact that you said pink, I was very surprised by. I get why you do it. When you explain it, it makes perfect sense because black would be in your, in in in your your mural so that it could be a little confusing.

Scott Cowan [00:18:42]:

But pink? Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:18:45]:

Yeah. This is I mean, pink is my favorite color. You know?

Scott Cowan [00:18:48]:

Is it? Okay. Alright. Alright. Alright. So pink is your pink.

Curtis Ashby [00:18:52]:

Yeah. Pink and orange are my favorite colors.

Scott Cowan [00:18:54]:

Okay. I mean, this is cool. Alright. So you you spend an evening Getting the the lines put onto the building. Now you said ladders. Are you really going up a 30 foot Building on a ladder, you’re not using, like, a cherry picker type thing? You’re going up on ladders?

Curtis Ashby [00:19:11]:

For the 1st night, yeah, we’re using ladders. We we have Big ladders. I bring my truck, and I’ve I’ve got a

Scott Cowan [00:19:18]:

roundabout truck. We’re gonna talk about the truck, man. We’re gonna we’re gonna we’re gonna talk about the truck.

Curtis Ashby [00:19:24]:

And, yeah. So the 1st night, it was just we got multiple ladders and, you know, so everybody’s kinda different heights. I I I always do the the tallest height because I’m used to it. So we got people that are just ground level, people that are mid level, and I’m Always the highest and

Scott Cowan [00:19:41]:

So alright. Alright. Are we gonna, yeah, we’re gonna come back to that because, you know, I got I got questions there. So lined out, And then are you the only one that’s painting the mural, or do you does your wife help you? Do you do you do you bring in people, Or is it just are you applying paint?

Curtis Ashby [00:20:03]:

My wife helps me a ton. She’s she usually she she does a lot of the fill work.

Scott Cowan [00:20:12]:

K.

Curtis Ashby [00:20:12]:

So once Once everything is lined out, she’ll do a lot of the fill work, and I’ll have friends that come and they’ll come for a day. And, especially on the the Puyallup one, I had friends come and they’ll paint for a day and just kinda fill things in, block out colors. Right. Some friends come by just to say hi. Some friends come and bring candy and, you know, water and whatnot.

Scott Cowan [00:20:37]:

That’s cool. Alright. So Yeah. Yeah. How are you painting the building? Is it is it spray paint? Are you using brushes, rollers, combination? What’s Walk me through let’s say, you’ve lined out a bird. Okay? Yeah. Say it’s a goldfinch. K.

Scott Cowan [00:20:56]:

State bird. Let’s talk about goldfinch. Got a big Goldfinch on the wall, lined out in pink. If all you were gonna do is that bird, how would you what’s the technique that you would use to to do the bird?

Curtis Ashby [00:21:08]:

If I’m painting just the bird, it’s a 100% spray paint.

Scott Cowan [00:21:13]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:21:13]:

So, I’ll start with the the line drawing, and then I’ll Start blocking on the colors with spray paint. I have a couple different, caps that I use, and so I’ll start with a fat cap to fill in the The the big areas with color, and then I’ll, reduce the cap size. And then I’ll do medium for kind of the feather texture, and then I’ll do A thin cap to do some some, low lights and highlights and then kind of little feather wisps in there

Scott Cowan [00:21:42]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:21:43]:

And just kind of, You know, build it out, and it takes it takes a little bit of time to do that, just adding the layers in there, but it’s all spray paint, and, it Makes things go pretty quickly, actually.

Scott Cowan [00:21:57]:

So so detail work, the bird would be detail work in my my way. That’s spray paint. Is there any part of a mural that you’re rolling it or brushes? Or is it all

Curtis Ashby [00:22:08]:

usually, the background, I’ll either roll or, I actually I bought myself a a paint sprayer, like a house sprayer.

Scott Cowan [00:22:17]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:22:17]:

And so I just load the the exterior paint into the sprayer, and I’ll just spray the wall. Okay. And then I’ll, you know, that Makes quick work of that too. So that’s that was, kind of a that’s something that I had I had to work into to be able to afford.

Scott Cowan [00:22:35]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:22:35]:

But once I I did enough murals, I could, you know, afford an upgrade in my tools. And so now it it makes my process a little bit easier, Okay. Kind of a cool thing.

Scott Cowan [00:22:46]:

So we we haven’t talked paint, so now’s a good time. So let’s when you when you do spray, Are you buying commercial cans? Are you like going to Home Depot and buying Krylon paint? Or what are you doing?

Curtis Ashby [00:23:00]:

So I I I go to here in Tacoma, we have a a shop called Artisan Craftsman, and they have, a whole cage full of, like, mural quality paint. So it it’s it’s a little bit different than your Krylon or Rustoleum, it’s

Scott Cowan [00:23:21]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:23:22]:

I would say it’s it’s thicker, and it It the flow is a little slower.

Scott Cowan [00:23:27]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:23:27]:

And so, you don’t really get drips, which is nice, Especially if you kinda know what you’re doing, you know, you it’s not gonna drip. And so it and it’s, it’s made for outdoors, So it’s it’s gonna last a long time.

Scott Cowan [00:23:42]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:23:42]:

And, it’s it’s really nice stuff. And so I I like using using that. I use Montana as my kind of go to right now.

Scott Cowan [00:23:52]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:23:52]:

And It’s just it’s overall nice stuff, and it has kind of the the color range that I’m looking for Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:24:01]:

From Murrells. So I haven’t bought a can of spray paint in years. So if if you if I were to send you down to Home Depot and you were gonna buy Rust Oleum or Krylon or whatever, you know, insert name of, you know, big big box brand spray paint. What would a can of what would a can of paint cost? $6, $7 maybe?

Curtis Ashby [00:24:22]:

Yeah. Somewhere around there.

Scott Cowan [00:24:23]:

Alright. So so is this is this mural quality paint Drastically more expensive? Is it, you know, is it cheaper? And I’m thinking it’s gonna be more because it’s a specialty item.

Curtis Ashby [00:24:36]:

Depending on where you get it, it’s between $7.10.

Scott Cowan [00:24:40]:

So it’s not drastically expensive if if I’m Kind of correct that a can of spray paint $7. Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:24:46]:

Yeah. Yeah. This is kind of a, you know, kind of the the tool for the application

Scott Cowan [00:24:51]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:24:51]:

Where it comes down to.

Scott Cowan [00:24:54]:

So how if you okay. I’m not allowed to paint Anything. There’s a story of me painting my office at home one time, and I was painting, and I walked into the house. I was barefoot walked into the house, and there was green footprints through the house on the carpet carpet and hardwood floors. And, the the the question was you know, I won’t say exactly what the question was, but what in the were you doing? I was completely oblivious that I was standing in paint and walk I’m just no. I’m just close. So I don’t paint. And when I did try to paint, I was never I was never a good painter.

Scott Cowan [00:25:37]:

Like, runs, drips, edge work was terrible. I don’t it’s just not my thing.

Curtis Ashby [00:25:43]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:25:44]:

And I certainly don’t wanna be in a ladder 30 feet up, 25 feet up, 2 feet up, against a wall. So so both question I have for you is if you’re on a ladder and we’re talking about the Charlies you know, I’ll call it the Charlies building. And you’re up on a ladder, how do you get Distance enough away from the wall to see what you’re doing.

Curtis Ashby [00:26:07]:

Yes. Does

Scott Cowan [00:26:08]:

Does that make sense? You know, I’m I’m thinking you’re, like, right next you know, you’re on the ladder. You’re 18 inches away from the wall at most. You’ve Scott, I’m sure you’re going up with more than 1 can. You’ve got some, you know, some rig where you’ve got 66 you know, like a holster.

Curtis Ashby [00:26:23]:

I do. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:26:24]:

But how do you how do you how do you you’re too close to the the subject, aren’t you, to paint?

Curtis Ashby [00:26:32]:

So, yeah. So the the first after the 1st night when we trace, I I rented a Lyft. Okay. And so I kinda worked my way up. So I Scott at the bottom and, you know, worked up to a point where It’s too tall for me to just climb up and climb down on a ladder. So I rented a lift, and the lift It’s nice because it has a little, deck that I can stand on, and I can bring all my paint up.

Scott Cowan [00:27:02]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:27:02]:

And so, and I had to get certified and all that, you know, so I have a little certification and that I I’m able to drive this thing. So

Scott Cowan [00:27:10]:

Okay. Alright.

Curtis Ashby [00:27:11]:

I I have it against the wall. And, basically, You know, it takes a little bit of time to get used to, but, you know, once you stand on it for a while, you’re used to the shaking and whatnot. But I have all the paint up there, and I can paint a section, and then I can move a couple feet and paint. And so it’s actually pretty convenient. Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:27:30]:

Well, on a large yeah.

Curtis Ashby [00:27:32]:

Yeah. So that’s nice. But on a, there are some were some sections, that I had to to bring the ladder up. And so in that case, I had a a little tote like, a canvas tote bag, like a shopping bag. Just threw all the paint in there and have it over my shoulder, Grab 1 out, do a little section, reach, you know, maybe whatever my arm length is, 2 2 feet or so,

Scott Cowan [00:27:56]:

3 feet, and

Curtis Ashby [00:27:57]:

Yeah. Do that. Do left side. I’d do that.

Scott Cowan [00:28:00]:

Yeah. So you so you gotta be ambidextrous. You gotta be able to paint with both left and right hand.

Curtis Ashby [00:28:06]:

Essentially. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:28:07]:

Okay. So Wenatchee again, Scott’s not gonna do this ever again. So, you know, you’re not training me to be your competition because I’m left handed. My right hand is useless. So you’re safe. Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:28:16]:

We we can train you to

Scott Cowan [00:28:17]:

do this. We can’t do that. Trust me. Trust me. You can’t.

Curtis Ashby [00:28:23]:

So yeah. And with the the Oh, wow. The lift, there was actually, like I think there are phone lines

Scott Cowan [00:28:31]:

that

Curtis Ashby [00:28:31]:

Oh, shit. Ran just, But, like, just in front of the mural?

Scott Cowan [00:28:36]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:28:37]:

So, you know, I had to be close enough that, You know, I’m making sure that I’m clear, lines and everything. And so it’s it’s a little bit of a game that you have to play to make sure that you Reach everything and you know?

Scott Cowan [00:28:54]:

So so you okay. So you go through and you do the whole 30 foot by a 100 foot. You know, you painted it all out. Does do you apply, like, a sealer coat over all of it? Is there is there anything that you can do to help Slow down the weathering of I mean, because it’s gonna be out in the cold, the wind, the rain, you know, snow. You know, it’s Unlike a piece of art that you hang in your home, which is in a temperature controlled space, this is this is now gonna be baked by the sun and frozen and wet. What, if anything, can you do?

Curtis Ashby [00:29:31]:

So for the Charlie’s Mural, I Chose not to do, any coating on there because the paint that I use is exterior rated, and, the spray paint is super heavy duty stuff. But, in some cases, especially in, like, high graffiti zones, there are, Like graffiti coatings that you can put on there that are, some are sacrificial, which means that once you clean it off, It the coating comes off with it, so you have to reapply the coating.

Scott Cowan [00:30:04]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:30:05]:

And some are nonsacrificial, so it’s basically like a silicone Coating that you put on air that’s clear, but it’s like a rubbery coating.

Scott Cowan [00:30:14]:

Like Teflon. So it just Yeah. The other thing so okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:30:17]:

Yeah. But the, the just the the downside of that is they’re super expensive. And so sometimes, in in In the case of, you know, the Charlie’s Mural, it’s more cost effective for me to go out there and just Paint over a small section

Scott Cowan [00:30:36]:

Touch it up.

Curtis Ashby [00:30:38]:

Touch it up rather than paint the whole thing with the really expensive, You know, anti critique coding.

Scott Cowan [00:30:44]:

Okay. So thank you for indulging me on the kind of the nuts and bolts of you know, The high, high level nuts and bolts of of mural paint. Yeah. So at the time we’re recording this, it’s late January of 2024. How many murals have you completed?

Curtis Ashby [00:31:03]:

That’s a good question. I think, Probably, you know, probably close to 20 to 25.

Scott Cowan [00:31:15]:

K. K. Couple dozen. Let’s just say a couple dozen.

Curtis Ashby [00:31:17]:

Couple dozen.

Scott Cowan [00:31:18]:

Yeah. So when you are approached or you’re approaching an owner of a building, Right? Let’s see. We can use Charlie’s as the constant reference here because you already said you didn’t code it. Yeah. And that might have been just a budgetary constraint by the by the by the client. Like, they you know, they’re they have a budget of x. They can’t afford 2 x. Let’s just say it’s double the price to Scott it.

Scott Cowan [00:31:41]:

So they Are you offering maintenance of these murals, or are they it’s done And whatever happens to it is unfortunate, but my my work is done here.

Curtis Ashby [00:32:00]:

I I really like to offer maintenance, and I do offer maintenance because I think it it For the longevity of the piece, it’s in my best interest and the the city’s or whoever the client’s best interest to, you You know, keep it good looking, and I I want it to I think it best serves the community if it looks It’s best. And, you know, it’s it’s also a a statement to to, whoever is, you know, tagging a piece or, defacing a piece just as quickly as they can come out there and touch it up, And it just shows that, you know, it’s it is being maintained, and it is like an active art piece. And so I think I think that’s just a good sign for the the, wherever it is, you know, just to show that we are here, and and I’m able to respond.

Scott Cowan [00:32:58]:

What do you think the expected life of a piece would be in in Puget Sound. I mean, are these 10 years, a 100 years? You know, forget the tagging that that you can’t control that. But if If if if if the bill if the building was just left alone after you painted the mural, What do you think the natural life of a mural would be without you maintaining it? Like, you know

Curtis Ashby [00:33:27]:

Yeah. Yeah. For from my experience, Just seeing other I my murals have not been up that long yet to really have a reference for my personal, pieces. But Sure. Just seeing other murals, I’ve seen them last, you know, 10 to 20 years

Scott Cowan [00:33:45]:

k.

Curtis Ashby [00:33:47]:

Which is, I think, a pretty solid

Scott Cowan [00:33:49]:

Yeah. It’s very solid. It’s very solid.

Curtis Ashby [00:33:51]:

Yeah. I’ve done a little bit of documentation myself on Murals in Tacoma, and I’ve seen murals that date back to the early nineties that are still still up. They do look a little warm, but they’re they’re still here. And

Scott Cowan [00:34:07]:

What’s these aren’t well, they’re murals, but they’re like But back in the day when a lot of buildings were brick. Right? And they would paint advertising on the side of a building. What’s really kinda cool sometimes is when There’s a building, and then they built another building right next to it. They obviously didn’t take the old Coca Cola ad off or whatever it was. And they demoed that building, and now you got this this really cool old ad on a brick building. I think they look awesome. Like, I like that look of, advertising on the side of a building. And that’d be kinda cool, the same thing, though, is, like, if the Charlies building, if they ever built something Right next to it, right, and they left your mural on the wall, and and, you know, a 100 years from now, they take it Cowan, and here’s your mural.

Scott Cowan [00:34:50]:

That’d be that’d be kinda cool to unearth. You know? I’d be like, oh,

Curtis Ashby [00:34:53]:

that’s cool. That that would be amazing.

Scott Cowan [00:34:56]:

So are are are municipalities is the city are they primarily your Your client or is it is it the business owner or is it a combination of the 2? Who’s who’s who are who are your clients?

Curtis Ashby [00:35:14]:

These days, it’s a lot of, I work with a lot of cities, And I’ve I’ve, I went through the, here in Tacoma, we have a program program called Spaceworks. Mhmm. And they’re, sort of a they’re nonprofit and what I would call kind of an incubator Where, they they train, entrepreneurs, business owners, and artists to Educate themselves and and prepare themselves to work with clients.

Scott Cowan [00:35:49]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:35:49]:

And so they they give The tools that artists and and business owners need to to work with their clients. And so that’s how I started out in Tacoma, and, I was able to, be a I get onto the artist roster as a mural assistant and for for my 1st year, and then I became a a mural lead mural artist. And so that kind of helped me Learn to work with clients and learn to work with, you know, city budgets and work with officials and kind of talk that that language. And And so that that set me on a path to better work with, officials and professionals that that work in that area, and so I can express my artistic ideas in a professional manner.

Scott Cowan [00:36:40]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:36:41]:

And so that’s kinda what I I thrive on doing now.

Scott Cowan [00:36:44]:

K. It’s like like like I referenced earlier recording this in January. You’re probably not actively working on any painting. You might be you might be, conceptualizing a project, but do you have anything lined up for this upcoming year during

Curtis Ashby [00:37:01]:

I’ll call

Scott Cowan [00:37:01]:

it mural season.

Curtis Ashby [00:37:02]:

Yeah. I call it neuroscience season 2. Yeah. That’s that’s that’s what I call it. Okay. I now is the time where I’m in talks. So I’ll I’ll say I’m I’m in talks with a couple different,

Scott Cowan [00:37:15]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:37:15]:

Clients right now, and this is the time I I kinda schedule my year that way. Right. So the beginning of the year when it’s rainy and just not nice to be outside, this is the time that I’m Scott of put my business hat on and,

Scott Cowan [00:37:30]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:37:30]:

You know, starting to to make deals and and put bids out. And, you know, when the sun starts to poke out, That’s when I start getting the paint out.

Scott Cowan [00:37:42]:

Well, you’re wearing a Tacoma Rainier’s baseball cap. So is that your business cap?

Curtis Ashby [00:37:47]:

Yeah. I’d say so. I’m also really excited for, you know, baseball season. I I love going to see the reindeers, and, I’m I, I love seeing minor league baseball. Just it’s fun to

Scott Cowan [00:38:02]:

hear you. I do too. There’s I I got it. I I will say this though. Yeah. I don’t like the fact that The Tacoma Rainiers are called the Rainiers, and I I I say that for two reasons. Number 1, It was always the Seattle Rainiers. Back in the day, it was the Tacoma Tigers.

Scott Cowan [00:38:24]:

Way back when Tacoma baseball started in the 1800, they were the Tigers. That’s that’s what the team started out as. You In the sixties, it was the Giants and then the TUGS, the Twins, the Yankees, the A’s, Tigers. I don’t like the Rainier’s. Nothing against. I think the Rainier’s name belongs in Seattle, and I think I wish that the the Tacoma team was named I wish they were named the Tigers. They won’t be because it’s a Mariners franchise that that would doesn’t work well. So the Tacoma Mariners would work for me, but I seeing that r and having it related to Tacoma, I’m old, and it just doesn’t fit quite right.

Scott Cowan [00:39:04]:

But

Curtis Ashby [00:39:05]:

That’s That’s fair. But

Scott Cowan [00:39:08]:

it’s a great ballpark. It’s fun to go watch baseball there. Not in April. April, Cheney’s team in April, nobody should it’s too cold. But it’s a it’s great that Tacoma has that that running for it. Okay. So I am I have the magical powers to grant you any commission you want. What do you want? What would be, like, what’s your

Curtis Ashby [00:39:32]:

My dream commission?

Scott Cowan [00:39:33]:

Yeah. What’s the dream job?

Curtis Ashby [00:39:38]:

I I like that question. It’s My dream job would be a client that says a client that gives me parameters.

Scott Cowan [00:39:51]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:39:51]:

So someone that says, okay. I have this wall, and it’s a certain height and length.

Scott Cowan [00:39:58]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:39:59]:

I like these things. You know? Say, like, I like, these types of birds that come out in spring. I like, flowers that, you know, remind me of my my grandmother. K? I’ll I my favorite color is purple.

Scott Cowan [00:40:18]:

Right.

Curtis Ashby [00:40:19]:

And then after that, Show me what you can do. Yeah. Because And then

Scott Cowan [00:40:28]:

As a as a as a writer or as an artist, as a creative, that blank page thing is terrible? I can’t imagine That 30 by a 100 foot blank piece of paper staring at me going, oh, just do what you want. Oh my god. I I wouldn’t know what to do. So I like

Curtis Ashby [00:40:44]:

daunting.

Scott Cowan [00:40:45]:

Yeah. It’d be really daunting. But I’m talking about okay. So I like the fact that we’re gonna give you the parameters. We want some spring birds. We want, you know, my grandmother, you know, Daffodils because it’s the Puyallup Valley, and and there’s the the connection to that. Let’s just Scott those are your parameters. And purple, So we’re gonna weave some purple into it.

Scott Cowan [00:41:04]:

Okay. I love that. But where do you want the building to be? What’s the The the the the the blank canvas.

Curtis Ashby [00:41:14]:

Right. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:41:15]:

Where what is the like, to you, at this moment in time, What’s the, like oh, that would be cool if I could paint there.

Curtis Ashby [00:41:29]:

I think I mean, I really painting I really like painting Anywhere in Washington, especially. I always have fun painting in places that give me an opportunity to also sort of feel like I’m on vacation. Mhmm. You know, if I’m I’m painting somewhere away from my house that I can stay the night Mhmm. Maybe stay in a A cabin or, you know, camp or something like that. Just just it’s it feels like In a space that I can just get away from from my normal, you know, life and just go paint and have a little excursion.

Scott Cowan [00:42:15]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:42:16]:

I I like that. It you know, I don’t have, like, a specific location in mind, but anywhere that I can just Get away from my normal studio life. I think that would be really fun to do.

Scott Cowan [00:42:30]:

Okay. So you don’t have, like, any designs, like, you wanna paint? Ah, I wanna do the Tacoma Dome. Could you imagine? What would you what would you say if they approached you about painting the Tacoma Dome? Would you would you entertain that challenge?

Curtis Ashby [00:42:50]:

You know, it’s I’ve I’ve thought about this, and I thought about the, like, the Mariners City connect jerseys, you know, because I love designing things. But things like that are it it would be really fun and quite the honor to do. But yeah. In almost in the same breath, it would be a really tricky experience because You the parameters are so tight, and the the The people I mean, everybody loves, you know, seeing things like that, and you you you get a lot of opinions. Oh, yeah. You know? And so I and

Scott Cowan [00:43:35]:

I I

Curtis Ashby [00:43:35]:

definitely don’t don’t mind, opinions, but, sometimes it’s it’s a little bit of it’s a lot of pressure, actually, to to make something, and you’re never gonna please Everyone.

Scott Cowan [00:43:47]:

Oh, no. No. You know,

Curtis Ashby [00:43:48]:

even even in making murals, you’re you’re never gonna please everyone. But

Scott Cowan [00:43:53]:

You’re too young to remember when the Tacoma Dome was built, but, Man, when they put that oh, boy. Yeah. People there was a lot of people were not happy with The the art that was selected for the the dome.

Curtis Ashby [00:44:07]:

Yeah. And I I I did I did some research actually at the The Tacoma Library about the Tacoma Dome and and seeing the the whole process of that and even the the neon Art that was inside the building. That was you know, they they gave that artist a lot of a lot of grief. Yep. You know, I it’s a tough position to be in as an artist.

Scott Cowan [00:44:33]:

Yeah. I,

Curtis Ashby [00:44:35]:

So, I mean, I guess my thought is I I like to pick and choose my battles

Scott Cowan [00:44:41]:

Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [00:44:41]:

And for my own sake and for my own, you know, mentality.

Scott Cowan [00:44:45]:

Please. Is your sanity keep you sane?

Curtis Ashby [00:44:47]:

Yes. My sanity, I need to to choose things that I think I I will be good at and will be taken, you know, welcome welcomingly.

Scott Cowan [00:44:59]:

Yeah. I mean

Curtis Ashby [00:45:00]:

So

Scott Cowan [00:45:00]:

yeah. Let’s be honest. The Tacoma Dome, I don’t wanna say it’s an icon. I mean, it it’s structurally, it’s impressive because it’s wood. Right? But it’s it’s a It’s a sports complex. It’s it’s not I don’t think in a 100 years people will be taking tours of the Tacoma Dome for its artistic and art architectural insignificance. But how many hundreds of thousands of people a month would see your work as they drive or crawl past the Tacoma Dome. I mean, from a from an ego standpoint, that would be a a You know, I did that.

Scott Cowan [00:45:37]:

I mean, that that’d be a real big statement.

Curtis Ashby [00:45:41]:

Yeah. I mean, that would be amazing. And, you know, I even think the same thing At the murals that I’ve that I have done, you know, considering people that are, you know, driving into parking lots and Yeah. Driving past,

Scott Cowan [00:45:56]:

you

Curtis Ashby [00:45:56]:

know, down Main Street Yeah. Just if they probably most of them don’t even know who I am or don’t even, you know, think about it, but they’re they’re seeing that work. I think that’s really cool. It’s that’s that’s the part That I love that’s it’s sharing art with the community. And, you know, even if you don’t know who the artist is, like, you’re you’re seeing something that is different from The next one? Brick building, which is cool.

Scott Cowan [00:46:23]:

So a 2 part question here, and it’s an impossible question. I I’m setting you up for failure.

Curtis Ashby [00:46:29]:

Okay. I’m ready.

Scott Cowan [00:46:30]:

I I like you, so I’m telling you, I’m setting you up for failure. I told you those are gonna be hard questions. I lied. It’s a hard question. So first question, do you have any children? No. Okay. So you won’t quite get the reference in, but it’ll work with me. What mural are you the most proud of? What’s your favorite mural? As you know, what’s your favorite kid? You know.

Scott Cowan [00:46:54]:

So, I mean, Is there a mural that you’ve done that you think came out, and you’re like, that’s even better than I imagined.

Curtis Ashby [00:47:07]:

Yeah. That’s you know? It’s hard.

Scott Cowan [00:47:09]:

I know it’s an impossible question. You Cowan skip I will let you skip it. But I’m just curious. Is there is there do you have a mural that you’re like, yeah. That came out Awesome. I love how this came out.

Curtis Ashby [00:47:23]:

I I do. I actually you know, it’s tough to say, and I hope Hope none of my other murals are listening right now because

Scott Cowan [00:47:32]:

but I love them all equally. Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [00:47:37]:

I you know, often I’d say that my most recent mural is my favorite mural just because I’m I’m learning and growing as I go. Mhmm. Which is I mean, it’s just fun for me to to see my progress and and see it almost, you know, In a way, in stone, you know, if Right. If you will. But 1 mural that I had the most fun with and also I’m in the most Proud of is near it’s near, the Tacoma Community College campus.

Scott Cowan [00:48:12]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:48:12]:

It’s across the street. It’s on the side of the, the Sushido restaurant.

Scott Cowan [00:48:17]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:48:18]:

And I was able to work with a a couple Really cool, businesses, and I it was, 2 blue herons And, red winged blackbird in the middle and out. I worked with the the neighborhood council there and, the Tahoma Audubon Society, which is really cool because I got a, a grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission, and, I needed a little bit more funding, and so the Tahoma Audubon Society helped me with the rest of the funding. And, the Tacoma Housing Authority provided the the the wall. And, after working with The the neighborhood council, we came up with the concept, and it came out really, really Cowan, and I’m super proud of it. And That was one of my tallest and longest murals at that time. And so it just it taught me a lot about, working on a mural on on that scale and just sort of putting elements together to make a a cohesive piece At a on a large scale, you know, project, it it everything kinda just came together for that one, and it Was, almost almost like a like a dream project. You know?

Scott Cowan [00:49:44]:

Cool. No. And I I know it’s an impossible question. I I know it’s a very difficult question because you feel like if you, you know, you said well, Well, you said your favorite color was pink. I mean, by making that statement, you’ve just disrespected every other color. No. You haven’t.

Curtis Ashby [00:50:01]:

I have.

Scott Cowan [00:50:02]:

Use preferences you like to make. I mean, Yellow’s fine. Blue’s okay. Green’s great. I use them all. You know, it’s not like I’m not anti, you know, magenta.

Curtis Ashby [00:50:12]:

But

Scott Cowan [00:50:12]:

it’s it it it’s Wenatchee we place things, but it’s when I talk to creatives, you know, Whether they be a musician or, you know, a a writer or, you know, anybody, if you’ve got any Body of work, there are certain pieces that stand out to you for whatever reason. It it it that might be your favorite piece. Right? But, technically, it might not be your best work. It might be you know, and I’m and, you know, Your best work might have been this building over here where you were able to adapt the concept to the different, building surfaces, you know, blah blah blah. But you this is the one that resonates with you right now, and that that’s cool. So I mentioned earlier your truck. Mhmm. And because on your website, It’s kind of got this motion graphic of you walking in front of a truck shaking a can of paint.

Scott Cowan [00:51:13]:

And I laugh because the truck Was and then we talked about this on the phone, and I what did I say it was? Did I say it was a 68?

Curtis Ashby [00:51:21]:

You said 68, and you were really close.

Scott Cowan [00:51:23]:

Yeah. And And what year is it? It’s a 60 69. 69. 69. 69. Yeah. So it’s a 69 Chevy, and it’s got that, to me, that classic Pickup look. It’s a utilitarian vehicle.

Scott Cowan [00:51:38]:

It doesn’t look fancy. Like, if you go back and look at t two Chevy, it had that big wraparound windshield. It that was cool. Yeah. But it you know, trucks aren’t supposed to Cool. Trucks are supposed to haul things and and Yeah. Be, you know, a working vehicle. And that your your truck looks like a working vehicle.

Curtis Ashby [00:51:57]:

I call it the old man truck. I mean, that’s kind of the look I’m I’m going for.

Scott Cowan [00:52:01]:

Yeah. It’s kinda got it’s kinda got the old man look. I’ll give you that, but at the same time, that’s not the vibe that The video put out the video put out to me was that here’s a guy who’s an artist, and this is This is the tool that gets into the work, and it’s Yeah. Functional. You had mentioned that you you sleep in it on occasion and, and and things like that. And and so wouldn’t it be easy to work out of, like, a sprinter van or something, though, from a from a purely Ease of use

Curtis Ashby [00:52:36]:

You know,

Scott Cowan [00:52:38]:

Maybe a triangle?

Curtis Ashby [00:52:39]:

Question probably. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:52:41]:

Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [00:52:41]:

But that that’s not me. I’m I’m not the I don’t go for easy. I go for yeah. I mean, most most of my, like, most of my wardrobe is From the the seventies or earlier. Like, I love my my sixties pickup. I I just I like that that look and feel, and that’s just kind of me. And so that’s those are the things I I really enjoy. And so I I like to I’d like to include my personality into my my art.

Scott Cowan [00:53:14]:

Well and let’s let’s be honest. If you were driving that truck over in Eastern Washington And you broke down in Mabton. There’s somebody in Mabton that Cowan work on that truck. Absolutely. If you had a Sprinter van And it’s the Mercedes version of the Sprinter van. You’re probably getting towed somewhere really expensive because it can’t be worked on by just about anybody. Or that truck, You could probably fix everything on that truck. I I’m not mechanically inclined, and I would be willing to try to work on the truck.

Scott Cowan [00:53:45]:

It’s

Curtis Ashby [00:53:46]:

This Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:53:47]:

The the simplicity of it, the lack of of modern Features, whether they’re benefits or not, is debatable. It but it’s it’s got good Cowan lines. It’s a good looking truck, and so I think it’s good that you’re showcasing it on your website. I really do Thank you. Seriously. Yeah. So you’ve got some projects. You’re You’re in you’re in the the discussion phase, the planning phase for this coming mural season.

Scott Cowan [00:54:15]:

Like like every artist, you know, budgets, Municipalities, non you know, all these agencies have you know, you gotta it’s like cracking a safe. You gotta get everything to line up just right. It’s a lot of work. Again

Curtis Ashby [00:54:29]:

Exactly. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:54:31]:

So you also have a a a a a a brand of merch. So how’d you get started doing that?

Curtis Ashby [00:54:38]:

So I I started out painting when I was in high Scott. And then after high school, I was continuing to paint. And, I had big visions of, you know, becoming a a, you know, famous painter. And but at that time, You know, I was living with roommates, and my roommates really wanted to support me, but they just flat out said, you know, we can’t we can’t buy canvases. We don’t have any place to put them, and, you know, that’s too expensive. So that brought me to the idea of, you know, making T shirts. And I can make T shirt designs and put Put them on a shirt and, you know, for 30 25, $30, you know, my friends can support me that way. And so that’s kinda where the the shirt brand came from, and, I just started being consistent with that, consistently putting out, different shirt designs, and, my friends would come back and and buy a new shirt, and it just the brand built from there.

Scott Cowan [00:55:42]:

Right. So are you these are screenprinted. Correct?

Curtis Ashby [00:55:46]:

Yes.

Scott Cowan [00:55:47]:

Are you are you doing the screen printing yourself, or do you outsource that?

Curtis Ashby [00:55:51]:

I outsource worth that. I I work with a a company that’s here in the northwest. I learned how to screen print, and I, had a A sort of mentor that that showed me how the the process worked so that I could be a better designer and and design the The shirts to comedy accommodate screen printing.

Scott Cowan [00:56:14]:

Mhmm.

Curtis Ashby [00:56:15]:

And so I I learned that early on and, but, You know, I’m a little bit of a perfectionist to the the point where it was too hard for me to let things go or even to get to a point where I said, okay. This looks good. It’s much easier for me to let someone else do that and, you know, Let them take that part of the the the project and and move on with it.

Scott Cowan [00:56:40]:

Well, I don’t I don’t mean to disrespect screen printing or any ending manufacturing. But a screen the screen print isn’t the it there’s there’s craft To being a good screen printer, I get that. I’m not trying to say there’s Scott, but the real the real the reason you we’re buying a shirt is because how it looks, Not necessarily how well it was screenprinted. So if we like the design so the designs, the art, that’s what people are to me, that’s what people are buying. Now I probably just insulted, You know, every screen printer in in Washington Scott, but no no disrespect.

Curtis Ashby [00:57:13]:

You know, actually, I mean, I I I agree with that in a sense, but I also what makes my myself and my brand a little bit different is that I have a A specific way and a specific ask that I ask screen printers how to to print my shirts.

Scott Cowan [00:57:34]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [00:57:35]:

And so, all my shirts are are what are used, used water based ink and, use a process called discharge printing.

Scott Cowan [00:57:44]:

To start

Curtis Ashby [00:57:44]:

So yeah. So, you basically, you you lay a screen on the shirt that has the design, and then you use a chemical that, removes the dye from the the shirt and then replaces it with a water based ink. So once the the shirt is printed with the ink And you you wash it one time. It washes into the shirt, and so it has a super soft feel. And it actually is in the t shirt, so it’s never gonna crack or peel or come out of the shirt. And so

Scott Cowan [00:58:16]:

I’m rubbing myself because I thought I had a screen printed shirt on, and I don’t. Okay. I’m like, so

Curtis Ashby [00:58:21]:

So it feels like the shirt. So so you’re It’s in the dye.

Scott Cowan [00:58:25]:

Really?

Curtis Ashby [00:58:26]:

Yeah. So that’s what that’s what’s a little bit Special.

Scott Cowan [00:58:29]:

That’s cool.

Curtis Ashby [00:58:30]:

You know, you go into a store and you see a screen printed shirt. It’s usually plastic solid ink. Yeah. And it’s, you know, it’s it’s on top of the Sure. And, you know, you can feel it, the kind of plastic feel. Yep. But, you know, I wanted something a little bit different because that’s just kinda how my mind Cowan. I had I I’ve always been into the fashion and also just, you know, trying to figure out how I can separate myself a little bit.

Curtis Ashby [00:58:56]:

You know, and that’s that’s one thing that that really stood out to me.

Scott Cowan [00:59:00]:

In the effort to keep us, you know, kind of on track and, you know, we’re getting close to where we wanna wrap this up Sure. But the shirt, the blank, can that this process be done with any shirt, or do you need a a does the shirt need to be a special does it need to be a 100% cotton? Does it have to be all polyester? What can it be a blend? What’s what sort of blanks do you use for this process?

Curtis Ashby [00:59:24]:

I think it works best with a 100% cotton.

Scott Cowan [00:59:27]:

Okay. Which beneficial, I mean, I think.

Curtis Ashby [00:59:29]:

Yeah. Mhmm. I mean, which is most Most T shirts that I use, I know with, sweatshirts that are, you know, part polyester. It doesn’t doesn’t work. So it’s I think it’s a cotton thing.

Scott Cowan [00:59:44]:

Okay. So so it’s almost like and this is very crude to me to say it this way, but it’s almost like they Bleach

Curtis Ashby [00:59:53]:

in a sense. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:59:54]:

That’s harsh. That’s a harsh word. And then, you know, I mean, not harsh, but, like, bleach is a is a harsh chemical. But they they they lay it on. They put a chemical solution on, and it takes the it it removes the ink And then they go back Yeah. Yeah. They remove the die. Sorry.

Scott Cowan [01:00:10]:

And then they go over it. Mhmm. And and then when you rush it, it it is it it adheres to the fibers? Yeah. That’s fine. Okay. That’s really cool.

Curtis Ashby [01:00:23]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [01:00:23]:

Alright.

Curtis Ashby [01:00:25]:

I know science.

Scott Cowan [01:00:26]:

Yeah. A little science. This has been a more technical episode than I anticipated it being, but for me, it’s cool. I you know? So but we Scott I gotta ask you some questions. These are questions I ask most of my guests. So Yeah. Number 1, when you’re not doing murals and you’re not What do you what do you and the wife like to do? What do you guys do for fun? What’s what’s fun for you? You said baseball earlier, but You know? Yeah. Besides baseball?

Curtis Ashby [01:00:52]:

We adopted a dog about 2 years ago. She’s from Guam. And so she flew over here from Guam. I know it’s kinda funny, but, she was she was a rescue dog. They they found her abandoned In a in a building, and,

Scott Cowan [01:01:08]:

so

Curtis Ashby [01:01:08]:

they they fixed her up and, you know, took care of her. And then, we adopted her, so they flew her over here. And so Her name is Jolene. We we love Dolly Parton. So, you know

Scott Cowan [01:01:21]:

That’s the song that was going through my head right there. Yeah. Okay.

Curtis Ashby [01:01:24]:

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So Jolene, alright. You can’t forget that name. No. So, so we love taking Jolene pretty much everywhere. We go to to Bars that are dog friendly.

Scott Cowan [01:01:36]:

Okay. We

Curtis Ashby [01:01:37]:

take her camping. You know, just Anything anything that we can take Jolene out and go for walks, I mean, that’s always a a bonus. I love working on my my classic cars and my Cowan. And just, you know, a lot of times, to be honest, I’m even in in when I’m not Making art, I’m still thinking about art. I’m still drawing. You know, even on vacation, I got my iPad. I’m still drawing.

Scott Cowan [01:02:08]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [01:02:08]:

You know? So

Scott Cowan [01:02:08]:

it’s just kind of

Curtis Ashby [01:02:09]:

it’s like a bug. You know?

Scott Cowan [01:02:11]:

There’s something wrong with that. Alright. So when we talk on the phone, I always ask this question, but I don’t have my notes in front of me. I don’t remember what you said. Right. But I want to say that you don’t drink coffee.

Curtis Ashby [01:02:25]:

I don’t drink coffee, but I do like a good Hot cocoa?

Scott Cowan [01:02:30]:

Alright. Alright. That’s right. That’s right. I remember that. Okay. So we’re still talking. You’re still okay if you don’t like coffee.

Scott Cowan [01:02:34]:

But Yeah. Yeah. Question every yeah. I’m learning to be tolerant. I’m accepting of all beverage drinkers now. I don’t know. Where’s a good place to get hot cocoa or a cup of coffee in the Tacoma area. Where where do you like to go?

Curtis Ashby [01:02:50]:

I really like Lander. It’s in Lander is in Kind of between stadium and Procter, and it’s just it’s a really cool spot. It’s they’ve got seating for just, you know, little The street area.

Scott Cowan [01:03:06]:

What street is it on?

Curtis Ashby [01:03:08]:

It’s right across the there’s, like, a little bridge. It’s on

Scott Cowan [01:03:13]:

Is it by Magoo’s?

Curtis Ashby [01:03:14]:

Yeah. Yeah. It’s like 21st. It’s like right where 21st and I Street Yeah. Meet. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [01:03:20]:

Okay.

Curtis Ashby [01:03:21]:

It’s a nice little Scott. Little little neighborhood. I

Scott Cowan [01:03:23]:

didn’t I didn’t know there was a place there now. Okay. Interesting. Okay. Yeah. Alright. Alright. So next question.

Scott Cowan [01:03:30]:

I’m gonna magically get to Tacoma around lunchtime, and I’m gonna be hungry. So where’s a good place for me to grab lunch?

Curtis Ashby [01:03:37]:

One of my favorite spots right now is Dusty’s Hideaway. They’ve they’ve got, you know, cheap beers, and they just updated their menu. And, it’s it’s a little restaurant that’s in a a house. You know? It’s like you walk in. It’s like a Craftsman house, and you walk in, and it still looks like a house inside. You got, like, The main room, you got a living room, the bedroom, and everything just sort of laid out like that. But, you know, they got good good cheap beers. They got, You know, a good menu kind of just

Scott Cowan [01:04:14]:

So where is this at?

Curtis Ashby [01:04:15]:

This is in McKinley.

Scott Cowan [01:04:17]:

McKinley. Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [01:04:19]:

It’s right off of, McKinley Avenue. So it’s it’s just up the hill from the Tacoma Dome. So, you know, it’s a

Scott Cowan [01:04:26]:

good spot. Is it on the corner?

Curtis Ashby [01:04:28]:

It is on the corner. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [01:04:29]:

And was it a coffee shop many a few years ago? It’s kinda got it’s kinda You It’s kinda like a parking it’s Scott, like, gravel around it. Like, the yard was taken out for parking. That come up, Yeah. As you come up the hill toward as as I’m I’m heading up the hill from the Tacoma Dome, it’ll be on the right hand side. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That used to be

Curtis Ashby [01:04:51]:

a that

Scott Cowan [01:04:51]:

used to be a coffee shop.

Curtis Ashby [01:04:53]:

Okay. Yeah. I don’t remember that.

Scott Cowan [01:04:54]:

15 years ago or so. So that’s I okay. So alright. Cool. Alright. So you mentioned they have good cheap beers. What’s what’s the go to beer these days?

Curtis Ashby [01:05:04]:

You know, for me, I’m I’m a little different. I like hams. I always Rainier. You know? You know, Ham’s is my go to. Not everyone has that, so Rainier is my second 2nd choice.

Scott Cowan [01:05:21]:

I’m laughing at you. You you could no one could see this but you and me, and I’m laughing at you. Not in a mean way. I’m laughing at you because hams. Okay. I so I get I get it. I get it. Full disclosure full disclosure, Hamza’s fine.

Scott Cowan [01:05:36]:

I don’t like Rainier. I never have liked Rainier. Even when I was in high school, I didn’t like Rainier. I appreciate the branding of it that the the Peterson brothers and Isaac Olster are doing that movie about Rainier beer commercials. They’re in Tacoma. They The the you know, the it’s great. I’ve got a art chantry poster over here for the movie, the reindeer beer thing. It’s cool.

Scott Cowan [01:05:59]:

I just never liked Rainier beer. It just there’s something about it. The taste, I just it doesn’t work for me. Hams, PBR, oli. Yeah. Heidelberg. Yeah.

Curtis Ashby [01:06:11]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [01:06:11]:

Sure. Good good cheap crushable beer. Menu was never my thing, but I get it. The, Is it the top of Tacoma? Up that’s up a little bit further. Right?

Curtis Ashby [01:06:22]:

Yes. Same same street.

Scott Cowan [01:06:23]:

I think when I was in there last, which is maybe 5 years ago, They had a sign up that they sell more Rainier beer there than anywhere else in Washington Scott. Like, that that bar sells the most Rainier beer.

Curtis Ashby [01:06:36]:

I I believe that.

Scott Cowan [01:06:37]:

I don’t know if that’s a good thing to be proud of or I don’t know. Anyway okay.

Curtis Ashby [01:06:40]:

I mean, around around here in Tacoma, I think, you know, Rainier, Heidelberg, You know?

Scott Cowan [01:06:46]:

Yeah. But today, they they brewed Heidelberg and Tacoma. See Right. Rainier Rainier was a Seattle beer. We gotta keep that we gotta keep that rivalry going between Seattle and Tacoma. That’s that’s part of the whole ring your hat thing. You know? It’s why ring your stays up in Seattle. And, you know, it’s, you know, it’s fine up there.

Scott Cowan [01:07:03]:

But, anyway okay. I get it. Alright.

Curtis Ashby [01:07:08]:

The other

Scott Cowan [01:07:08]:

question I ask every guest, Very important question. You have to answer it. You can’t pass, and you have to answer it in its entirety. Alright. Are you ready?

Curtis Ashby [01:07:17]:

I’ll give it a shot.

Scott Cowan [01:07:18]:

Cake or pie, and why?

Curtis Ashby [01:07:25]:

I’m gonna have to go pie. K. And, because I’ve recently discovered chocolate cream pie.

Scott Cowan [01:07:36]:

Okay. And I

Curtis Ashby [01:07:37]:

would I would add a little diner in, Snoqualmie. Okay? I’m I’m Scott, I’m not a watcher of Twin Peaks,

Scott Cowan [01:07:48]:

but

Curtis Ashby [01:07:48]:

it was it was, one of the the Twin Peaks restaurant. You know, so we went there, and I had the it was like their their highlighted piece on the menus. So I ordered the chocolate cream pie, and it was the best pie I’d ever had. And so now I’m obsessed with chocolate cream pie.

Scott Cowan [01:08:07]:

Alright. Fair enough. I don’t know. It’s just a question I ask you. I stole that question from somebody else. It’s some people, it’s easy to answer. Some people, it’s like asking them their favorite child. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [01:08:20]:

You know?

Curtis Ashby [01:08:20]:

Other people

Scott Cowan [01:08:21]:

yeah. Some people agonize way over it. I’m gonna go back and listen to every episode and do a tally so that I can say, you know you know, in in the lead will be x. You know? I do think Pai is in the lead. I think apple is probably in the lead of the pie categories. Berry’s probably a strong second. The various cream pies come in lower down the the list. All solid.

Scott Cowan [01:08:46]:

There’s no wrong answers here. You know, people can like cake too. Cheesecake is a fine answer. Yeah. It’s just kinda fun. It’s just kinda fun. So the last question I really have of you, though, is okay. During a conversation like this, we always overlook something.

Scott Cowan [01:09:01]:

So what did I not bring up to you that you think I we should we should have a conversation about? Yeah. I don’t know.

Curtis Ashby [01:09:09]:

I think we’ve kinda hit everything.

Scott Cowan [01:09:12]:

Alright. So where can people find you online? Where can they see your work, both Both the clothing and your art, where’s a good place for people to find you?

Curtis Ashby [01:09:23]:

So the best way to find me is on Instagram. My art page is at curtisashby art, and my clothing brand is at northwest till death. And both of my websites are the same, curtisashbyart.comandnorthwesttilldeath.com. You can find All kinds of shirt designs and check out my murals and just kinda see what I’ve been up to.

Scott Cowan [01:09:53]:

Cool. Why Northwest till death?

Curtis Ashby [01:09:57]:

Northwest till death is my way of saying that I love the northwest, and I’m proud of where I live. And, it’s also a way for me to share that with everyone else, and, you know, you don’t have to be from the northwest. You don’t have to live here, but, you know, maybe the North has has taken you know, you’re taken with it in some way, and you just are You just love the aesthetics, or you just love the something about the northwest and that that can be a part of you as well.

Scott Cowan [01:10:31]:

Okay. That’s just that’s solid. There’s no no wrong answer there. I was just curious. North northwest till death.

Curtis Ashby [01:10:37]:

Yeah. It’s just kind of a a sense of pride. You know? When you you see, like, a A foam finger that says, you know, something till death. You know? That’s that’s kind of that’s kind of my my chant. You know?

Scott Cowan [01:10:47]:

So do you have a a Northwest till death tattoo? Have you have you have you committed to the brand?

Curtis Ashby [01:10:52]:

You know, not yet, but I’m planning on doing it soon.

Scott Cowan [01:10:57]:

Okay. Alright. Yeah. Very cool. Well, thanks for taking the time to sit with me today. This was fun for me. I hope you had a good time, and I wish you continued success. And I well, next time I get over to Tacoma, I’m gonna have to go, and I will.

Scott Cowan [01:11:10]:

I’ll go I’ll go drive by a couple of them, take some photos, and kind of show them on the website and all that too.

Curtis Ashby [01:11:15]:

Oh, that’d be amazing.

Scott Cowan [01:11:16]:

Yeah. Awesome. Thanks, man.

Curtis Ashby [01:11:18]:

Yeah. Thank you.