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Our Celebrity Pics! |
| See Rayf's Bio |
What our customers
have been saying:
The shirts were the highlight of the evening! They were rapt! Thanks
for that, mate!
Ron H.
- Croydon, Vic
I received my order and I am absolutely
thrilled with it! I will definitely be buying from you again! Thanks!
Julie B. - Kingscote, SA
OH...
MY... GOD! You are an extremely talented man... the mat is AWESOME!!
I love it and can guarantee my friend who it is for will too.
Jo F. - Palmyra, WA
Received
the item today and am very pleased. The airbrushing looks great, the
shirt is great quality and the order to delivery time was awesome.
Two thumbs up for an excellently organies and operated business.
Jai J. - Corio, Vic
See more
testimonials |
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| Rayf Jacobs' Biography |
Having
been a bit of a doodler and casual comic artist since the age
of 11, Rayf's first love was actually music. Born in 1968 as
an army brat in Ft. Campbell, KY and growing up in Columbus,
Georgia in the 70's and then living in Germany in the early
'80s during the birth of hip hop and techno dance music, Rayf
thought that he would become a dj and get lost in the world
of breakbeats and remixes. Upon return to the States in 1983,
Rayf found a calling as a drummer in the Nacogdoches High School
Band, and later became an award winning percussionist in the
East Texas Region. A love of writing music for marching percussion,
charting drills for marching bands, and playing in jazz bands
seemed to cement the direction for the future for young Rayf,
but it wasn't to be. Directions in life sometimes are much different
from where you start.
Playing during my senior year in
Nacogdoches, TX, 1985 |
Yes, Rayf was skinny once... |
The first beach scene |
Having first seen an airbrush artist on
a visit to Pensacola, FL while on a high school band trip
in 1986, Rayf saw a possibility to do something with his drawing
skills which he maintained in high school by drawing cartoons
of his bandmates. However, it would be some 5 more years before
he would take up an airbrush of his own for the first time.
It was in 1991 in a small town in Kansas that he started his
airbrush career, later moving with his parents to Hinesville,
GA in 1992 and airbrushing in Savannah, GA, and later spending
the summer of 1993 in Myrtle Beach.
After a stint in South Padre Island, TX the next summer, Rayf
moved to Baltimore, Maryland in the fall of 1994 and started
working at the Big T shirt shop in it's various locations in
the metro area until 1996. Getting married for the first time
in July of 1996, Rayf moved back to Kansas with his new wife
and 2 stepdaughters and had a year off from airbrushing, later
beginning work for West Coast Airbrush in Wichita in the fall
of 1997. Here is where his work matured and there he finally
saw the phenomenon of production airbrushing. Again working
long hours for more than 18 months, he felt a need for a break
after suffering burnout and took up webdesign in February of
1999. Even though his work resulted in the creation of 15 different
websites, including Airbrush Online.com, and West Coast Airbrush.com,
it turned out to be a difficult career choice, especially since
the dotcom bubble burst later in 2000, and like for many people
in the freelance IT industry, things went bad for Rayf. The
marriage broke up in early 2001, with official divorce in early
2002. In the meantime, Rayf went back to airbrushing fulltime
in Pine Bluff, AR in Feb of 2001, and then moved to Indianapolis,
IN to airbrush again for West Coast Airbrush in September of
2001.
Rayf and WCA owner Pat Gaines
in Mattoon, IL Sept 2000 |
Rayf and the legendary Tom Davison
in Phoenix, AZ Oct 2000 |
It was during a trip to Disneyworld in late Sept that he met
the Australian beauty who would later become his soulmate and
mindmate, Rebekah. Finishing up work with WCA at the end of
December of 2002, Rayf went to visit Rebekah in Australia in
March and later made the move permanent with the marriage to
Rebekah on Oct 29th of 2003. 2004 has proven to be a busy year
for the two newlyweds as they have made many adjustments, built
a business, and then had the great joy of the birth of their
son, Rhys Sabian on August 20th.
Rayf, Rebekah and Rhys in Melbourne
Aug 2004
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Together as a family, we look forward to expanding the airbrushed
t-shirt and portrait market in Australia. |
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