Airbrush artist specializes in memorials

T-shirts might seem an unusual medium for a memorial to a deceased family member or friend, but Doreta Bogner has painted quite a few in recent years.

Bogner, owner of Airbrush Etc., 3260 Southgate Pl. SW, says that such portraits are a kind of mainstay of her business.

“We have a lot of people who will come to us after the passing of a father, mother or friend,” she said. “They want their portrait on a T-shirt, either to give as a gift or for them to wear as a tribute.

“I've dealt with sons who have had several siblings pass away and had a T-shirt created as a Mother's Day gift. It's a unique aspect of my business, one that I take very seriously.”

Bogner said she is happy to help those clients who come to her at such a traumatic time.

“If I can supply a small gift of my talent to alleviate some of that grieving, what else can I ask for at the end of the day?” she said.

Often the lead time is quite short, according to Bogner.

“Customers wanting memorial shirts often come just days before the funeral,” she said. “We will get an order for 20 or 30 shirts. That's a challenge because each shirt is custom painted by airbrush.

“The largest order I ever turned out was about 140 shirts for a young man who had attended four Cedar Rapids high schools and was very well liked.”

Bogner started Airbrush Etc. in 2000, creating temporary tattoos at fairs and other events.

“After about four years, I decided that I needed a new hobby, so I began airbrushing T-shirts,” Bogner said. “We opened a store on the lower level of Lindale Mall in November 2006 and stayed there until June 30.”

Bogner moved out of the mall last month to a new location off the busy 33rd Avenue SW strip.

“I moved here because of the hours at Lindale. We would have to keep about 72 hours a week, and the hardest thing was finding people whose lifestyles don't change,” she said.

“I've had wonderful people who have worked with me in the past, but someone moves, gets married or has a new baby, and, pretty soon, I don't have any help.

“From April 1 to June 30, I worked most of the 72 hours each week by myself. I had someone who helped me take care of Sunday afternoons, but it was really wearing after a while.”

Painting with an airbrush - whether on cotton T-shirts, jackets or shoes - requires a relatively small amount of paint but a great deal of skill. Often, the final result will differ from Bogner's vision or that of her customer.

“I had a man who told me to do what I wanted,” she said. “I had an airbrush explode all over his shirt with fluorescent orange paint. So I splattered additional fluorescent colors on the shirt.

“He came back and said, ‘Wow, that's so great and not what I expected.' I was thinking, It's so totally not what I expected either.”