White-Van-Man No More!

Posted by Trev Johnson - 23:10 on 16 January 2012

Simon said that he was going to have his car ‘graffitied’ during a Freaky Friday, organised by IOTA. He had seen it advertised in the local ICA magazine and had applied. This appealed to me as I have been looking for ways to cast off the image of white-van-man for some years but I was a little late in applying. However I got my application in and to my surprise, and great pleasure, was selected. Unfortunately Simon had to withdraw, he needed his car when the painting was due to take place.

So it was with some trepidation that I drove into the Old Town Rose Street car park at 9.40am on Thursday 1st December after an early morning swim (to relax me) at the aquadome. Getting in without paying was the first challenge and I left my van on a double yellow while I sought advice about where to go. After wandering about the car park I came across a group who looked suspiciously like artists at the pay station near the bus terminus. Kirsten welcomed me and introduced me to Amy who I helped mask up my van and chatted about the project. I was told the Rus Five was to do my van and Amy showed me examples of his work. It looked different. Not what I was expecting. After he arrived I asked Amy if Five was his surname but then was told, to my embarrassment, that this was his street name was not Rus but Rue (roux). His real name being Jules - that saved some further embarrassment!

After masking up I was introduced to all the Recoat team (Amy, Mark, Ali, Kirsty, Ben, Brian and Jules) by Susan plus a couple of the other vehicle owners - Ash, Simon, Ewan and Georgina. Recoat seemed a great crowd, very keen and very enthusiastic.

I was asked whether I would be able to hang around for the press visit. Hesitantly I said I would, as there were no other vehicle owners available at that stage. First BBC Scotland and then MFR. “What did I expect?” “What if I didn’t like it?” (The makeover that is) “Was it just a free spray job?” I had faith; I was convinced it would be good. And, at that stage the decision was in the hands of the artist.

I knew that I would have to inform DVLA of a colour change but Kirsten suggested I needed to contact my insurance company as well. I got a helpful but bemused response from Gary at the call centre and he said he would need to contact his supervisor. When he got back to me he asked if the artist was famous. Because, if so, I would need to increase the value of the van. I hadn’t thought about that!

When I returned the following day my first question to Jules was “how famous are you?” (Quite I understand) And I told him the story. And then the press returned and I had a follow up interview with the BBC and I hope my pleasure at the result of Jules’s work was reflected in my response. And then STV if I recall correctly. This was my 15 minutes of fame!

All the artists were working in very cold conditions and most of the vehicles had been completed by Friday evening. Jules was not quite finished and he asked whether I needed the van on the Saturday, as he wanted to finish the next day. I said that if he was prepared to put in the extra work for me, I would be delighted as this was an extra bonus, and he did.

Alongside the honeycomb image and three small intricately drawn faces there are some letters. Jules liked Ian Drury and he planned to put ‘Clever Trevor’ on the side! I don’t like Trevor and clever seemed a bit suspect so we compromised with incomplete words, in a font that needs to be studied. And when he had the idea he didn’t even know my name was Trev. That made Friday even freakier!

I picked the van up on Saturday afternoon after a huge effort by Jules. I really like what he has done, and it’s growing on me. It is different to the other vehicles as the artwork is only on the rear and nearside, including the roof. So you can only see it from one side. But it’s subtle and excellent. Thanks Jules, an excellent effort.

Thank you Team Recoat and IOTA.

Trev Johnson
18.12.11

Photos: Fin Macrae & Ewen Weatherspoon, 2011

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