My name is Rod Tickle and I’m a self-taught Sign writer and Custom Painter, with no formal training or trade schooling. I’m extremely passionate about my crafts and started my own business in 1984 at the age of 20. I have owned and ran my own sign shops for over 36 years now and still love it.

I am originally from Loxton which is a country town in South Australia, where I ran my first sign shop based out the back of my home. In 1992 my family and I moved to Perth, WA where I subcontracted to several different sign shops. Whilst doing so I still had my sign shop back in Loxton, which I employed Darren Wenzell to run. After a year in Perth, my partner and I returned back to Loxton to raise our kids. I opened another Sign shop in a neighbouring town, expanding to two shops for a while but later bought a huge warehouse where I combined those stores.

Fast forward to 2008 and my family and I decided to move to the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Where I changed my Business name to EAST COAST AIRBRUSHING. I did this to concentrate on my custom work but still doing Signwriting. I have three beautiful daughters and now two are in this game, my eldest daughter Cindi is working for me and doing most of the Digital Printing, Vinyl work and office work. Maddi my youngest works for a large sign company here on the coast and my middle daughter Amber manages a clothing store.

Over the years I have attended over a dozen Australian Letterhead meets, which is a gathering of signcraftmen, women and airbrush artists. I also have attended three American Letterhead meets. I was lucky enough to have been a project leader at the international meet in Minesota and a couple of Mike Lavallees MONSTER BASH airbrush meets in Seattle. Which is an exclusive meet up with artists from all over the world. I have also hosted Dru Blair and Mike Lavallee airbrush courses here on the Sunshine Coast. Hosting and working with other airbrush Artists is amazing and something I will keep doing from time to time.

Since moving here to the Sunshine Coast it has been really great as I get so much variety in work from helicopters, coffee machines, helmets, cars, bikes, monster trucks, planes, surfboards, trucks, amusement park rides, hotrods, personal artworks, prosthetic legs, guitars to coffins. You name it, I do it!

Paint – Sleep – Repeat

Rod