While everyone is bundling up in the cold weather this holiday season, senior Nathan Mayes headed to Los Angeles to paint a mural with his dad, Michael Rubino.
This isn’t Mayes’ first time traveling to the golden state; he has traveled to the west coast four times to pursue art with his dad before. On this trip, Mayes and his dad will be painting a floral mural for a client in Fairfax, California.
Mayes said he never knows exactly how long a project is going to take, but he thinks his upcoming one will take a week to complete. Before Mayes started working with his dad in high school, he didn’t have a lot of experience working with clients and commission work. However, he said he enjoys the challenge of working with other clients and getting to put their dreams onto a canvas.
“We love working together,” Mayes said. “I guess it’s a job, but it doesn’t feel like that because we just have fun painting together, fulfilling the needs [of] whatever the clients ask for.”
Senior Trey Thomas, Mayes’ roommate, said their house is always full of paint brushes and art supplies. Thomas has been Mayes’ roommate for two years now and has watched him grow as an artist over the past few years. Thomas said he is always intrigued by Mayes’ creativity and his passion for his art.
“He’s always creating something new and trying to find new ways to get creative with his work,” Thomas said. “It’s awesome to watch him do his thing, and he makes it look so easy.”
Rubino said that Mayes’ artistic ability has been a gift as it allows him to do something fun with his son that they both love. Rubino said that they bonded immediately when they discovered their shared passion for art. When the opportunity for a mural job came up, it was natural for him to ask his son to assist him.
“Having him work with me turned a chore into a great experience — one I hope to repeat whenever possible,” Rubino said. “The mural job to be started in a week commissioned by an old client is just one more perfect opportunity for us to work together again.”
