JUSTIN GERARD

Gary Evans discovers that this artist is happy to talk about exotic shrimp, bad business decisions and his former life as a roofer, but not his art…

- Gary Evans

Justin Gerard is falling off a roof. He’s on a job with this big Micronesian guy who looks like Maui from Moana. They’re fixing the peak of a gable roof three stories up. Justin’s taken a wrong step: he’s put his foot down on a roof shingle that’s been warmed by the morning sun. The thing about roof shingles is they’re grippy when cool, but slippery when warm. Justin’s slipping down the roof and tumbling over the edge, and now it’s a straight drop onto solid concrete. He’s got just enough time to think: “Well, this is it for me. We had a good run.”

Justin shouldn’t be on a roof. He quit a few months back, partly because his boss set him on fire with a blowtorch, but mainly because he’d believed he was about to hit the big time as an artist. He had received a commission to illustrate a book, and the money was good enough to buy himself a “real car.” Justin drove his 1995 Nissan Pathfinder to his boss’s office, and, just like a movie, told his boss: “I quit!”

Unfortunately, more art work didn’t come his way. Justin spent all his money in a few months and had to ask for his roofing job back. Going back to roofing has made him “highly motivated” with his art. He’s been roofing three days a week, and spending all his free time trying to build a better portfolio. It’s taken nearly a year, but now he’s getting enough regular art work to think about quitting roofing for good.