| Copyright Times
Publishing Co.
Oct 4, 2002
When Dr. Doodle
operates, he
uses a paintbrush.
It's not as sharp
as a scalpel, but
it gets the job
done.
Dr.
Doodle, also
known as Ron
Hutchinson, is
a self-described "muralogist." He
specializes in
painting murals
and faux finishes,
which imitate textures
such as leather,
bronze or wood.
He can give a
wall the look of
marble or fill
it with a Paris
street scene.
He works in scrubs
and requires his
crew to do the
same.
"If you don't
wear the scrubs,
you don't get paid.
Sometimes there
will be five us
walking into a
deli in the scrubs.
We look like the
guys in The Right
Stuff," he says.
It attracts attention
as well as business.
Since he launched,
Dr. Doodle four
years ago, Hutchinson
has added his artistic
flourishes to the
walls of homes
throughout the
Tampa Bay area,
a dentist's office,
a golf driving
range and restaurants,
including Mise
En Place and Maggiano's.
Last
year, he painted
a mural on a
24-foot-wide
canvas that was
turned into a dress
for super model
Carolina Korkova
to wear in advertisements
for VH1. Now, his
team of "wall doctors" is
working on a mural
at the Air Canada
terminal at Tampa
International Airport.
Homeowners, he
says, sometimes
know just what
kind of mural or
faux finish they
want. But just
as often, Hutchinson
says, he helps
them work out a
look.
"I ask them to
give me adjectives
to let me know
what kind of feeling
they want with
the room," he says.
Then he goes
back to his studio
and creates a small
version of the
final product.
Once he has come
up with an image
or finish the client
likes, he puts
the paint on the
wall.
The cost of the
job depends on
its complexity.
He has done simple
faux finishes for
a couple of hundred
dollars and highly
detailed murals
for tens of thousands
of dollars.
He's painted
everything from
landscapes to jungles
to sport scenes.
Hutchinson
says his success
is built on his
business sense,
combined with
a "God given
talent."
"I won my first
prize when I was
in kindergarten.
I won second place
in a contest, and
I drew Casper the
Friendly Ghost," he
says.
"Everyone
has a talent.
We just have
different ways
of expressing
ourselves. And
mine happens to
be art. For some
unreal, divine
reason, I can put
a pencil on a wall
and draw. I can
just look at a
room and see it
finished.
"It's
a feeling I have
when I walk in
a room. I love
what I do."
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