It’s not very often you have the opportunity to design & paint someone’s home, especially when it’s a mobile 1979 Leyland bus. Pete & Maria, a local couple living in Exmouth Western Australia bought Mojito a few years ago already decked out with a beautifully minimalistic & self-sustaining interior. It was just the outside that needed a little slap of colour… beautiful earthy hues & strong clean lines. Californian retro meets Australian desert. This is Mojito.
The project took a month, sporadically in between surfs & tinnie missions out to the national park. One day I might be painting for eight hours, others two. Desert fever is a real thing here. We made a joke that even the engine has racing stripes on it, because legitimately every inch of this bus from the roof to the finer details on the back has been covered in paint, and that’s how we like it.
A few days after completing Mojito, a few of us drove it out to this wide desert plain on the gulf of Exmouth. A perfect setting where it would fit right in, but also stand right out. We jumped on the roof and had the disco tunes blaring as we pretty much created a scene from a bad 70’s movie. Beers in hand from the built-in keg down below, and a euphoric sense of joy as we danced to the sun setting over the vast desert plain. One of the best afternoons to date. And how rewarding to see your work come into fruition, knowing that this is someone’s home, that is something special. Celebrating this final moment with your mates just tops tops it off completely. If anyone had drove past that gravel track, they sure would’ve been in for a bit of entertainment…
