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ome people are born into a life of art, others discover it as a hobby. Then there’s this month’s artist, Eduardo Delacruz of MAD Artistry Airbrush and Paint, who began creating art by accident! It all started back in 2009 when he was working for the City of New York Sewer department. He broke his leg and had to go through months of rehab and therapy. At the time, he was building a 1951 Plymouth Kustom and was just getting ready to start bodywork and paint. While in recovery, he was introduced to a woman who was selling some of her late husband’s tools, who just so happened to be into painting and building motorcycles. So Eduardo bought a bunch of body tools and paint guns that he still owns to this day! The tool that made the difference was a Badger 150 airbrush. He wasn’t able to move around much with a broken leg, so he began airbrushing as
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April - May ‘21 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE
a way to keep himself busy during recovery. Art became therapy, and as more and more people started seeing and liking his art, he quickly realized it was what he meant to do in the world. Along with being interested in cars, Eduardo spent his childhood around motorcycles and moto people. Two of his uncles were in the bike scene; one was actually friends with Indian Larry when he was with Psycho Cycles. Delacruz remembers seeing his uncle with his friends and all their bikes lined up outside his old neighborhood in Hell’s Kitchen and thinking it was the coolest. It was love, at first sight, the day he went to International Motorcycle Show and saw all the classic choppers and pro street bikes being displayed. Soon after, he began drawing his own bike designs. His first paid client was only a year after he started
