PATRICK ELASIK
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COLOSSAL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
H I S T O R Y 10 S H O P S 24 REAL ESTATE 46 A P P R E N T I C E P R G M 54 P R O C E S S 68 C O M M U N I T Y 72 T O O L S 100 THE WORK 120 BACK MATTER 160
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COLOSSAL
A NEW ERA OF CRAFTSMANSHIP We will celebrate our clients who expect the unex-
The letter I wrote for this 15th anniversary book felt on point, until COVID-19 hit. The words I first chose
pected from us: disruption, lasting impressions, and
to represent the past, present, and future suddenly
challenging the norms of advertising. More stories
became irrelevant. So much has changed in such a
will be told on our walls and through the photos and
short period of time. So I scrapped that letter and
videos we capture to extend artistry, messages and
started again.
storytelling.
The global pandemic has affected everyone and
Our in-house Creative Studio will dream up fresh
changed the way we think, feel, communicate, inter-
ways to combine corporate and creative so that every
act, and create. Who would have imagined that
campaign is thoughtful, soulful, and bespoke.
craftsmanship today would become synonymous with hand-sewn face masks, DIY hand sanitizers and
In an era of mindless scrolls and eight-second atten-
WFH Sourdough bread?
tion spans, we will inspire more people to stop, look, and feel something genuine; to respect a job well done, and to value handmade over automated.
At Colossal, craftsmanship is a way of life and our craft lives outdoors. When we were trapped indoors, we questioned whether we could keep our culture
Today we have shops in Brooklyn and East LA, with
thriving and our craft alive.
roots firmly planted in key communities throughout the US. Tomorrow we will explore new neighborhoods and cities that are right for Colossal and our clients.
We pulled all-nighters, determined to figure it out. Our confidence was high—we’ve proven we know how to defy odds. We’ve single-handedly revived a histori-
Most importantly, we will remember that our plans
cal trade. Our painstaking commitment to hand paint
start with our people. We will learn from every mis-
has helped hundreds of clients create meaningful and
step, remain humble, and always push to exceed all
memorable conversations with a captivated audience.
expectations.
Over the past 15 years we have brushed walls—and
No challenge is too big and no crisis too catastrophic
ceilings and floors, churches and schools, tarmacs,
if we hold onto what has gotten us here so far: hustle,
trucks and football field-sized buildings—in 7 coun-
humor, craftsmanship, curiosity and determination.
tries, 25 states, for over 500 brand partners. Kelly Peppers, CEO What will Colossal look like over the next 15 years?
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HAND PAINT IS MAGIC Brush strokes leave room for us to be human. To breathe. To get close. To discover and ask, “How did they do that?”
Hand-painted outdoor advertisements are authentic sensory experiences, intimate recreations that come to life as one-of-a-kind artworks unto themselves. They are both craft and commercial, as clever and precise as what we’d find in a museum. Lucky for us, these murals live on the streets. With them, urban sprawls become galleries-in-the-wild.
I met the Colossal Media team 15 years ago and admired them from the start. They followed their instinct, despite everyone saying it was wrong. “Hand paint is dying,” they were told to their faces. “Naive” is what they were called behind their backs. It didn’t matter. They knew they were onto something. They became quiet crusaders of a lost art. Unapologetic, for sure. They invested in human capital and steadfastly chose the road less traveled. No extra noise, they just shut up and did it.
Colossal has a soul unlike any other in this industry. They are the caretakers of a tradition. Protectors of a legacy. But don’t be fooled, they are fierce in their mission. Beyond the “always hand paint” motto is an unimpeachable demonstration of the power of collective purpose. It takes courage to dangle 10 stories high for days on end. It takes vision to paint a fresh story where there was once a white wall. They rolled the dice, bet against the house, and beat the odds. That’s part of the magic. That’s what makes Colossal, at its core, punk rock.
Because of this, it’s easy to understand why people love their work: soft on the eyes, kind to the walls. Step closer and both history and artistry reveal themselves. Each mural is a handmade narrative, a visual expression of unexpected challenges and hard-fought solutions. Humans are social creatures seeking connections; hand paint ties people and places together. This is why the public engages with , captures, and shares Colossal murals with such enthusiasm. The artwork defines its environment. It transforms and transcends advertising. The merging of content and context yields a spontaneous backdrop for life (online and off).
Today, Colossal has fully realized its right, place, and purpose. They may not rule the world (yet), but they’ve given new life to something truly special.
Hand paint is to be trusted. It feels like home. Personal. Familiar. Inviting. With it comes a legacy we intuitively understand and respect. Remember this. Colossal fought for it. They’ve recreated a category and left room for us to breathe, discover, wonder.
Rick Robinson, OOH Media Executive, Artist
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FOREWORD
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HISTORY
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HAND-PAINTED NOSTALGIA
To imagine New York City or any other American city without outdoor hand-
In some ways, not much has changed since then. History has come full circle and
painted wall advertisements is next to impossible. However, at the turn of the 20th
the preservation organizations of today have been equally active in their attempts
century there was what urban historian Kathleen Hulser called a “clash between
to regulate outdoor signage, dedicating themselves to preserving many of the
commerce and culture.” This manifested in the City Beautiful movement, which
signs which, ironically, were considered eyesores in their heyday.
came together to influence the visual aesthetics of New York’s urban landscape. It was instrumental in the New York Municipal Art Society’s proposal to form
In December 2000, I was invited to speak at a public hearing in defense of today’s
a Billboard Commission to regulate the often lurid colors, size, and seemingly
outdoor advertisers when a fading ad on East Houston Street for Thread Mills
omnipresent placement of giant outdoor signs.
(originally painted by the Middleton Brother’s Mack Corporation) was deemed
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History
reflection, a new meaning emerged: Progress and creativity can be thwarted when we hold on to feelings of what are perceived as “the good old days.” It was around this time that I began writing a book, Fading Ads of NYC, based on my long-standing blog, Fading Ad Blog, which documented many of the early efforts of Colossal Media.
By way of their dedication to the hand-painted, brick-face ad medium, Colossal is continuing the hallowed tradition of the painted ad, an indelible and international symbol of New York’s urban landscape. Tourists come to New York, the mecca for world commerce, and expect to see both the historic and the modern, the old, faded legend and the newly painted classic. Sign enthusiasts from around the world marvel over the vividly painted mural ads by Colossal. They’re visually exciting, clever, and a 21st century tourist attraction.
Without these images, many of our outdoor musings, reveries, and subconscious narratives would be silenced. In Fading Ads of NYC, it was one of my key intentions to further explore how vintage outdoor advertising, and specifically modern large-scale painted ads, help us understand and tell the story of human existence, and how the body moves through a city of New York’s size, scale, and volume, incessantly propelled by our desires and needs. We only need to look up and take our eyes off the ground to see how the story of the body is writ large on the city’s surfaces through the vast and diverse presence of advertisements.
No one expected fading ads to last forever. Just like fashion trends and lovers, they come and go. But I’d rather see a vintage ad covered by a Colossal Media work of art than by another run-of-the-mill illuminated billboard or dingy, fabric-stretched nylon ad. Colossal artworks provide succor in ways that are reminiscent of who “at risk” of being covered up. My testimony spoke of the need to support modern
we were, define who we are, and anticipate who we want to become. The pride and
advertisers, arguing that it was not just the original ads but also the time-hon-
thoughtfulness they take in their work is evident in their awesome final product.
ored tradition of hand painting ads that needed to be preserved. Subsequently, an I am honored to write and reflect on Colossal Media and their beautiful 15-year
agreement was made to only partially cover the ad with a newer, currently less
marriage between commerce and culture, and I look forward to the next 15 years
revered ad, but perhaps a classic in the making.
of magnificently detailed modern art that will feed our insatiable visual appetite. Nostalgia, according to Gloria Steinem in 2006, can be a “form of obstructionism.” Frank Jump, Author, Fading Ads of New York City, Fading Ad Blog
At first, my response to this comment was that it seemed reactionary. On further
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MAY 2004
Caught in a drive by on a production job in the Bronx. Still make the deadline.
AUG 2013
COLOSSAL
LOST & FOUNDERS We started Colossal 15 years ago mostly by accident. It was an idea Pat and Adrian -- who’d founded Mass Appeal magazine -- and I first started chatting about in March 2004 over a few beers in my backyard, back when I was working as a walldog in LA.
By May 4th of that year, I was hanging off the side of our first wall on 13 St. and 6th Ave, pretending like I knew how to paint, while Pat and Adrian went to work pitching an idea that the industry thought was too slow, too expensive and outdated.
Most businesses start with a plan and a budget. Ours started with three underdogs combining our past experiences (or lack thereof) with $3,000 and a commitment to Always Hand Paint. It’s impossible to know exactly why, but on the night we founded Colossal, none of us were bullshitting.
Looking back, it’s easy to see that reviving hand paint isn’t what made us Colossal. It was our commitment to evolve, to do the best work, to learn from our mistakes and continually raise the bar. We’ve always fought for what we believe, and we’ve learned that the reality we created for ourselves is a hard one. It’s one that requires sacrifice. And even as we work to make Colossal better, the work will always be harder than the alternative -no matter how much we learn, no matter how successful we are in our pursuit.
What might be our most important discovery is that our work is only too hard for the ones who don’t love it. There’s never been another business like ours, and we’ve never had the luxury of copying someone else. We’ve earned our answers and our skills came from struggle. This is the Colossal DNA.
Today, the Colossal team has grown to a size we never could have imagined. The impact of painted advertising is more prominent, widely recognized and appreciated than ever before. In some ways, though, the business today is exactly the same as it was 15 years ago. We’re still the scrappy underdogs, but we’re also a sophisticated and strategically organized professional team, guided by the most dedicated and talented people our industry has ever seen.
Catch us if you can. Paul & Adrian
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O U R GENERATIONS
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NEW DOGS, OLD TRICKS Walldogging is in our DNA. Our lineage dates back to the early ‘70s and is the foundation of our entire apprentice training process, execution method, and most importantly, the root of our Colossal culture. There’s no school that teaches what we know, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to create a system that not only trains future generations of walldogs to be the best, but also protects and honors our craft. With every painting we start and every apprentice we hire, we’re able to tap into the knowledge, precision, and expertise of painters who learned their craft from the generations walldogs before them.
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AMBITION: Xavier’s prior work experience includes, but is not limited to, delivering your pizza in just under 30 minutes. Adjust your plans for that pizza to come late my friend, this world has one less delivery bruh.
WEEKENDS: When it’s your day off and you’re not working, just remember while you’re enjoying your time
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off sipping your fruity cocktail that’s shaded by a mini umbrella, Robin’s spending more of his days off at work making a painting of the same thing. Enjoy the breeze, beach bum. Our weeks don’t end.
WORKING OUTSIDE: If when it starts to rain you find yourself taking cover under anything except a
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blue tarp duct-taped to a wall, wait out that storm in comfort and protect those delicate hands, survivor man. Liam wouldn’t want those toesies to get wet.
FINE ARTS: If your painting pallet is an oval shape with a thumb hole and not actually a fishing tackle box
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filled with an array of abused pigment, please take a moment to consider that any real walldog Armando ever knew needs a dictionary to look up the correct spelling for the word “easel.”
THE HARD WAY: In a world where the path most traveled is also the one of least resistance, Justin’s cut-
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ting throats, not corners. We’ve heard tales of a long lost time when one fought tooth and nail for the right to move forward. So in the spirit of tribute, make way, or don’t, we’re still coming through.
WORK CLOTHES: If when you woke up to go to work you put on clothes that aren’t the same ones you
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wore yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that, you might not be qualified to run with the savage lurkers. Stand proud Niko, breathe in that sweet aroma of success and paint thinner, let it carry you through your 12-hour day.
TECHNOLOGY: Ah technology, the future is now. Who needs a man when you’ve got a machine? Good
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thing we’ve come so far, I can’t imagine there’s much to learn from a man like Art who’s created some of the most masterful murals over the past 40 years. Is this guy man or machine? Is he both? Is that some type of new hybrid? Here’s to the answers that can’t be Googled.
EFFICIENCY: Sometimes you need a painting done well, sometimes you need a painting done well yes-
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terday and most times you need both. When in doubt, have no doubt, Jason’s already done, done well, and half way through the next obstacle. Now that’s no happy accident, Bob Ross. Those happy little trees don’t paint themselves.
PASSION: Dear diary, is JJ even human? How does he do it? Is it his good looks, his talent? I just melt
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when I think of him. Does he ever think of me? Those brushes are so lucky, I can just imagine those soft sensitive bristles pressed so caringly against that rock hard wall. Does he believe in magic? I do.
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SHOPS
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MECCAS OF MADNESS Comparing the East Coast to the West Coast is like comparing Colt 45 to kombucha. On the East, we’re painting in blizzards and cooling off in kiddie pools. On the West, we’re painting in heat waves and chilling in traffic. We couldn’t pick a favorite, so we chugged ‘em both and here we are: drunk on malt liquor, fermented bacteria, and coast-to-coast craziness.
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1109
Who says a warehouse has to be faceless? That shit ain’t cool man. Behold the thorn in your side, the skunk at your garden party, the girl your girlfriend’s jealous of. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you our magnificent home and production headquarters: 1109 Metropolitan.
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We do way too much work these days to keep flying our crew from New York to cities all over the country. There just aren’t enough Bloody Marys on a plane to accommodate us. The staff at U-Haul, the Marriott, and the Home MOLINO Depot all know us better than our own families. That ain’t good for anyone. So from now on, any work west of the Mississippi is orchestrated and executed by our team at 418 Molino Street.
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STATE OF On the side of our Williamsburg HQ are two big walls. Across the street: two more walls. And down the street, you guessed it: more walls. We strategically picked this space to be smack dab in the middle of the paint brigade. Behind the facades, we’re an eclectic bunch of creative masterminds, sales superstars, and real estate wizzes.
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THE ART We’re the misfits of out-of-home advertising, and we stop at nothing to get the job done. That’s why we launched the Colossal Creative Studio, a youneed-it-we-got-it department that does it all. From research, strategy, and conceptualization to art direction, design, and video production, we dream big and deliver award-winning results. No one knows these walls, streets, and ‘hoods like we do.
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REAL ESTATE
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IN PLACE & OFF THE WALL Over the past 15 years, we’ve transformed a historic craft into a thriving business. While Colossal takes a unique approach to our work, at our core we’re as much a real estate business as an advertising company. Forging long-term relationships with building owners and their walls is the foundation of the Colossal model. Our expert real estate team handles all necessary zoning analysis and permitting to expand legal hand-painted advertising to the best walls, in the most influential markets, creating partnerships between the world’s most influential brands, artists, and property owners.
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MARKED FOR LIFE Over the past 10 years we’ve worked closely with many historical agencies such as the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Historic Sign District in Los Angeles to develop and expand legal handpainted advertising in culturally iconic neighborhoods. As a result of those partnerships we’ve been able to bring some of the most prominent spaces to life in some of the most historically vibrant areas of these cities.
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SEATTLE PORTLAND SAN FRANCISCO
AUSTIN LOS ANGELES
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we’re dropping down and scaling up in a city near you
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO LOUISVILLE
APPREN COLOSSAL
APPRENTICE PROGRAM
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GRAM NEEDLES AND HAYSTACKS
Like a good challenge? Don’t give two shits about the power of crafting the perfect resume? Are your deep dives only off a high cliff into shallow water, not for describing the work that just needs getting done? If you answered yes to all three, read on: You’ve just made it past round one of our apprenticeship selection process. Around here we’re all skiller no filler; the old start today, finish yesterday routine. Our teams are driven by the unknown and we thrive off finding our own way. Sound intriguing? Cool, let’s party, lock lips under the moonlight, get married, and have some apprentice kids. Too much too soon? Sound confusing? Join the club.
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PROCESS PROCESS
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BREAKDOWN ART Our pre-production team breaks down artwork using contour line work to separate form, value, and color. This step allows us to simplify the shapes and objects found within the artwork.
PATTERN Once we’ve stripped the artwork down to its bare bones, we scale it up using a grid, project it out, and transfer the contour linework onto a pattern (or template) using a pounce pen, which burns tiny holes anywhere a line is drawn.
MIX Each color within the artwork is custom-mixed by hand. Our experts apply generations of knowledge in order to produce a specific volume of paint and a number of variant paint colors, which are mixed to create a complete palette. From each palette we make a swatch of colors so painters know what hues live where in the artwork and on the wall.
RIG Every wall needs a ton of equipment and scaffolding delivered, installed and broken down, which allows our teams to access any type of wall or surface. For each project our licensed in-house riggers engineer the solution that will get put to use.
POUNCE Once we get to the wall and we’ve installed the rigs, we unravel our rolls of pattern paper onto the wall. To transfer the imagery from pattern to wall we take a sack of charcoal and rub it over the line work, which passes the design onto the facade.
PAINT Brush ‘em and crush ‘em.
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LOVE THY LABOR We pride ourselves on supporting a cause bigger than our own and look forward to meaningful opportunities to educate, promote, and help beautify our landscape.
Along with our advertising work, we devote our time to public art campaigns, nonprofits, schools, hospitals, museums and the ones who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.
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TOOLS
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LOOSE SCREWS When it comes to what we do, some people think we’re out of our minds. That’s because we kind of are. But
while the rest of the world obsesses over the next best
gadget, we stick to the original tools of the trade and get shit done the only way we know how—by hand.
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ROUGH TRADE COLLECT THEM ALL!
CT COLLE L! AL THEM
COLLECTOR TRADING CARDS 11
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™ THE BULLDOG™
THE LONGBOARD LONGBOARD™™ THE **©2021COLOSALL, COLOSSAL,INC. INC. **©2020
**©2021 COLOSALL, COLOSSAL, INC. INC. **©2020
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POLLO GRITANDO GRITANDO™™ POLLO
THE ROTTEN ROTTEN PICKLE PICKLE ™™ THE
**©2021 COLOSSAL, INC. **©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
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THREE-LEGGED ELEPHANT™™ THREE-LEGGED ELEPHANT
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T U N D R A™™ TUNDRA **©2021 COLOSSAL, INC.
**©2021 COLOSSAL, INC.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
**©2021 COLOSSAL, INC. **©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
SKY ’S THE LIMIT!! SKY ’S THE LIMIT!! COLOSSAL PAPER PAPER MODEL MODEL TRUCK! TRUCK! FREE OFFICIAL COLOSSAL MAKE: FORD F150 MODEL: 1995 F150
Carefullycut cutout outthe thecar carwith withananX-Acto X-ActoKnife Knifeororscissor. Carefully scissor. After cutting out the car, fold down the tabs, then turn After cutting out gluing the caror, fold down tabs,tothen over body panels, taping tabsthe inside holdturn body Pop in rear window, andtabs get ready overshape. body panels, gluing or taping inside to to roll! hold body shape. pop in rear window, and get ready to roll! Tip: Use a light touch with an X-Acto Knife along a straight edge to score Also, use double sidedatape Tip: Use a light touchfolds. with an X-Acto Knife along tostraight get rightedge up to edges. to the score folds. Also, use double sided tape to get right up to the edges.
**©2021 COLOSSAL, INC.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
THE BULLDOG
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COLLECTOR SERIES
THE LONGBOARD
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COLLECTOR SERIES
1969 Chevy C10
1995 Ford F250
THE BULLDOG. Climb in and find something to hang onto because the only thing this baby burns faster than gas is rubber.
THE LONGBOARD. The art of driving a long bed pickup truck is timeless. You could say that driving one is a state of mind, an idealized stage of mindfulness. It’s the beginning and the end, and totally radical, brah.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
THE ROTTEN PICKLE
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**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
POLLO GRITANDO
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COLLECTOR SERIES
1995 Ford F250
2000 Chevy 350
THE ROTTEN PICKLE. Freed from the refillable big gulp chugging, gun rack-toting clutches of the South and reborn as a weapon of walldogging for the North. The only drive this POS is going on is the drive right out of your mind.
POLLO GRITANDO. This deadline-dodger boasts a floor-toceiling fully plushed-out cloth interior. It also features the custom option, aftermarket cigarette burn hole pattern for the most luxurious of rides. Just watch out for the petrified boogers.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
TUNDRA
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**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
THREE-LEGGED ELEPHANT
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2006 Toyota Tundra
1962 Mercedes Unimog
TUNDRA. Class is not just for school. This no-drama black beauty fires every time and rides like your great uncle’s classic car. In the Chevy v. Ford war, this Toyota always wins.
THREE-LEGGED ELEPHANT. With a top speed of 25 mph, six speeds for reverse, nine for forward, no heat, and no AC, this untrusty steed’s go a 50% success rate for making it across the Brooklyn Bridge.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
**©2020 COLOSALL, INC.
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SOCIAL STUDIES
You can’t scroll through a hand-painted wall, but you can walk up to it, meet famous people at it, snap a pic of it, share some flix of it, go viral with it, wonder how you ever lived without some meta shit like this.
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COLOSSAL
BACK MATTER
#MATTWRIGHT
PAINTER’S NECK
When someone does wild shit
Sharp pain in the neck bone
BRICK
PAINT NERD
A brush that died
Painter talking about painting
CHOPS
PITTER-PATTER
Breaks in the blends
A texturing technique
CLOVEHITCH
POODINI
Get it wrong and you’re not here long
When you think you gotta go but it disappears
COFFIN
POUNCE & BOUNCE
Scissor lift
Ditching the homies on the hard work
GARBAGE, SON
ROAD DOGGIN’
Not good
When a painter is on the road for a long-ass time
GINGER STICK
ROOKIE RASH
A level that gets used to balance out a rig and
Paint belongs in buckets and walls, not on your arms
comes back all bent up
shoulders and back
NO HOLIDAYS
SAWTOOTH METHOD
When coating out a wall, 100% of the wall must be white
Age-old blending technique that doesn’t actually work
OI, JIMMY BONEYARDS OVER HERE
Giving props and lightweight dawgin’ someone on
That doesn’t mean anything
their painting
OVER THERE PLAYIN’ THE DOO KA LA LEE
SHOTGUN A tool made out of desperation from duct tape,
Someone’s farting
levels and rollers to make straight lines
SO YA THINK YA NICE
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SMASHING
VULTURES
Painting fast
The competition
SMASHED
WALLDOGGIE LIMOUSINE
Painted well
U-Haul cargo van, preferable with a couple stinky walldogs in the back
SNITCH NERDS Gossipers who blab other people’s business
WALLDOG SANDWICH When two experienced painters are painting faster than
SPICY BACK
a less experienced painter, and crush that young buck in
Backaches
the middle
THE THIRST
WALLDOGGIE STYLE
Wanting a beer
When you sneak in early through the backdoor
THEY’RE GONNA GET YOU
WALLDOG WATER BONG
Young dogs moving up in rank and advancing in rigging
Portable toilet
THEY GOT YOU
WASH
After ascending in rank, realizing the rigging work
A rainy day when we can’t paint
is more than expected
TOESICLES
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH Said before we start working
Frozen toes
TROUBLE SQUAD
YOUNG BUCKS Apprentices
When the entire production team gets together
ULTIMATE WARRIOR Sneezing and farting at the same time
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ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY COLOSSAL, UNLESS THEY WEREN’T.
Special thanks to Jasper Patch for the crew pics, Morning Breath for book design, and Mike Lee for hand lettering. ©2021 Colossal Media colossalmedia.com @colossalmedia 95 N10th st. Brooklyn, NY 11249 718.858.0979
COLOSSAL
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