 Joseph
A. Garcia / Star staff
Jim Katranis, who runs JK Painter Guy,
donated an ocean mural to Seth Paschal, 5, to raise awareness
for HUGS, a nonprofit that helps families who cannot afford
alternative treatment for near drowning victims.
Katranis, a
Simi Valley
resident, turned his love of creating art into a successful
business. For nearly 15 years he worked for Warner Bros.
Studio painting billboards on studio walls and backdrops for
blockbuster movies.
"Anyone who
has ever gone to a movie or watched television has probably
seen Jimmy's work," said his wife, Becky. "They just didn't
realize they were looking at my husband's art. Millions of
people have seen it."
Katranis'
art is featured in "Charlie's Angels," "The Green Mile,"
"Batman," "Speed," "The Cat in the Hat" and others.
Three years
ago, he decided to launch his own independent business, JK
Painter Guy. The key motivation for the move was to have a
more flexible working schedule and to spend more time with his
family, including seven children — three boys and four girls,
the youngest being twin 5-year-old boys, Jamie and Jimmy.
Katranis now
works from a well-equipped studio in his garage in Simi
Valley. He primarily creates custom murals for homes and
offices. His creations are widely varied, from crazy cartoons
and air-brushed clouds blowing across a pale blue sky to
fireplace finishes and fine art Italian vistas.
Every piece
of art is personalized to the tastes and desires of his
client. In some cases, his murals include images of the
client's family members, pets or favorite stories and books.
He often
goes to his clients' homes or offices to paint murals. At
other times, he completes his artistic work on cloth in his
studio, then installs it at the client's property. The
advantage of painting on cloth is that the client can take it
with him when moving to a new home or office location, he
pointed out.
A current
project is to complete a very special mural for Seth Paschal,
a 5-year-old boy with serious medical problems following a
near-drowning accident. Seth's mother told Katranis her boy
loved the ocean and things under the surface. His mural is an
underwater scene.
The plan is
to create and sell limited print editions of the mural and
donate half of the income to a foundation set up for Seth.
Katranis,
43, has completed 30 murals so far this year. They varied in
size, complexity and cost. The fee for a mural like the one
being created for Seth would be about $2,500.
He now works
alone on each project, but plans to hire helpers in the future
as the volume of commissioned jobs increase.
For more information, phone 368-9344
Visit
Steh's website http://www.prayforseth.com
Click here to help Seth>> |
