Photo by Daniel Enyart - Artist Dan Fossatti with one of his projects, a refurbished Tonka truck.
Situated just a block and a half off of Highway 101 in South Bend sits a quaint little house with a fenced-in yard. Just outside that fence sits a small replica boat with an amazing paint job. The mailbox at this particular residence, like the replica boat it sits next to, also has a phenomenal paint job that adorns it. Both were applied by one of the home's inhabitants, Daniel (Dan) Fossatti, who lives there with his girlfriend, Christine Balcom, and their bevy of foster dogs. Together they all make up Tractor Beam Graphics.
On a chilly Tuesday morning the Herald paid Fossatti a visit to talk with him about his amazing artwork. Upon arriving at the residence this reporter was greeted by barking dogs and an open garage door with a smiling, waving Fossatti, who was standing behind his workbench.
Inside the garage, which is primarily Fossatti's art studio, he lowered the volume on his stereo. He had the Melvins playing, a rock band that was formed not so far away in Montesano. The Melvins, according to Fossatti, are a source of inspiration, as they are the only band he listens to while he is creating his spectacular designs.
Art has been a passion of Fossatti's since his youth. Having witnessed his artistic talents at a young age, Fossatti's mother signed him up for an art class, where he developed a love for abstract art. In 1973 his dad took him to the Autorama car show in the Seattle Coliseum, where the actor James Garner, perhaps best known for playing telvision series detective Maverick, had his car from the 1966 movie "Grand Prix" on display. Fossatti described the car's paint job as a white pearl, metal flake basecoat with purple metal flake numbers and James Garner's name in gold.
"It looked like you could dip your hand through the paint and grab the letters." Fossatti recalled.
Now 51, Fossatti has been creating artwork for approximately 42 years. Coming from a working-class family, Fossatti didn't get to attend the rock concerts of his day and age. In high school he started using butcher paper to create his own posters for the rock bands that he didn't get to see in person, bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rush, Styx, and all the other popular bands of the 70's era.
As a young man attempting to use his artistic talents to pursue a career, Fossatti at one point painted the interiors of restaurants for a living, though he said it just didn't work out in the long run. In between his attempts to pursue his painting career, he was primarily a crab fisherman.
Having just gotten into airbrushing a couple of years ago, and having been doing it professionally now for just about a year, Fossatti stated, "At age 51, I've got to do what I love to do."
After meeting his girlfriend and business partner, Christine Balcom, online approximately three years ago, Fossatti decided to move to the South Bend/Raymond area from Kittitas County, where he was helping take care of his parents.
Fossatti stated with a smile on his face that Christine is the "brains" behind Tractor Beam Graphics, taking care of all the administrative duties, and occasionally some clear-coating, while he simply gets to play the role of artist.
Sitting on Fossatti's workbenches were a gathering of current projects he is working on. Among these was an old Tonka truck, which is a childhood toy of his girlfriend's.
Not only had Fossatti started to apply a breathtaking paint job to the old toy truck, he also pointed out that he had completley customized the interior and bed of the toy. So meticulous is Fossatti with his craft that he has even handcrafted tiny license plates that he will be hand-painting and adding to the truck once they are finished. The Tonka even has working headlights and taillights.
Restoring vintage toy cars and trucks is just the start, according to Fossatti. Eventually he'd like to be doing custom paint jobs on full-size hot rods, motorcycles, and pretty much anything else to which someone may want long-lasting, high-quality custom artwork applied.
Fossatti's current clients include Growers Outlet, which is a cannabis dispensary located in South Bend, and a Vancouver-based cannabis manufacturer called Cedar Creek Cannabis. He also stated that he is working on a sign for the Raymond Grocery and Deli establishment, which is located on the corner of Highway 101 and Duryea St in Raymond.