By Nicole Harris, nharris@qconline.com

...said his life of art, motorcycles and cars, and his job as a tool and die maker at Eagle Engineering in Eldridge, Iowa, is just right. “I guess I'm just all mixed up,” he said with a laugh. “I really don't know. The metal work is hard work. You have to be strong and physical to work with metal. The airbrush is a very delicate tool. I guess I just have been working on all of it to keep an even balance in my life. I try not to overdo on any one thing.” This strange balance is paying off for Mr. Bert, who has work displayed at The Eclectic Eye Art Gallery at Bucktown Center for Arts, Davenport, Rock Island's Quad City Arts, and at the Putnam Museum. He also has paintings on display at the Illinois Artisan Gallery in Chicago and recently signed with a California agent who could sell his images or reprints to publishers and printers. Mr. Bert said he hopes the California deal takes off as well as sales have from his Web site at www.fineairbrush.com. Pushing him further with his art is his wife, Kat Bert, who is an art critic, art lover and writer. “She has been encouraging me like no one else can,” he said. “I think without her I never would have pursued it to the depth that I have.” Mr. Bert started airbrushing in the '70s when he was 12. He said he got more serious about it in the mid-'90s and has been going after it ever since. He used to do airbrushing on bikes and cars for clients, but said painting what he likes on the canvas of his choice allows him much more freedom.

Well before his first attempts at airbrushing, he discovered his passion for the open road. “I've been riding motorcycles since I was 5 years old,” he said. “I really don't know why I like it. I just can't get enough of it. Any chance I get.” He said his children, Zack, 23; Nick, 20; and McKinzie, 16, didn't inherit his love of art, but did inherit the need for speed and excitement. “My kids are more the extreme sports kind of kids,” he said. “It's hard for them to sit down that long. They're also into motorcycles and BMX and now cars. They stay very active in snowboarding and all the extreme sports that I never really had the courage for.” His stepdaughter, Ashley Randall, 24, does share his love for art and is a jewelry artist. As he strives to keep up with his job, family and artwork, Mr. Bert said airbrushing is almost becoming a full-time job. With no hesitation, he said he would be thrilled to leave the tool and die job behind. “I would love to,” he said. “That would be my ultimate dream to paint as a career.” Back