Client Stories

Thirty-nine Years a Carpenter

Could a newfound talent for mural painting change Bill’s life at the age of 55?

Bill has become somewhat of a local celebrity in the Mission SOLANO Thrift Store. After all, his artistic talent adorns the walls inside and out: a serene nature scene painted on the corrugated metal siding of the Thrift Store warehouse; a sprawling Noah’s Ark mural in the children’s section, complete with lions, rhinos and a majestic rainbow pointing the way to the Ark.

“I was doing a painting at a friend’s house,” Bill recalls. “He introduced me to Lupe at the Thrift Store and they showed me all the blank walls. My twin brother was in the hospital when I started my first mural here – I finished my first mural the day he died.”

Bill struggled with the passing of his twin brother, but the mural ended up getting him two other private home jobs. With all his success and talent, it’s truly hard to believe Bill is homeless. “There’s no work out there, especially at my age. I’ve been living in a tent, off and on for seven years now.”

Could this new line of work help Bill move out of his tent and into an apartment? He hopes it will, and with the exposure his Noah’s Ark mural receives daily, hopefully his newfound passion will generate more opportunities. “I think I’ve found my thing now – I really enjoy it. I wanted to be an architect when I was in high school, and I’ve had so many pictures of nature – from hunting, fishing and camping – I’ve wanted to paint for years, but I had never done a mural until the one here.”

Bill’s first mural was finished on November 15th – the day his brother died. He couldn’t paint for six months after losing his brother, but now he finds inspiration for his work everywhere. And so far, the leads for new mural work keep coming Bill’s way.