Fanimation has gone through two painters for this color, before the job came to me. First they went with an automotive painter, but it just didn’t have the pizazz they were looking for. Then they found, another painter. An antique furniture refinisher and repairman by trade, he knew exactly how to give the Enigma that spark Fanimation was looking for. This ‘new’ painter was also my dad. A little background on Kim Frank, while he was an antique restorer and furniture repairman, he was also a firefighter for 21, almost 22 years. When I was in middle school he started collecting and restoring antique fans and, as a 13-year-old kid, I made fun of him…alot. As I got older and started to mature (a little) I started to realize his stuff were pure works of art.
Anyway, my dad started painting these Enigma’s, but also had other jobs on his table and after a few years of painting them, finally said he didn’t have enough time to do these and his other work. He got ahold of me and asked if I wanted to learn how to paint. It just so happens that I am also a firefighter and on my days off was already working for Fanimation in the warehouse. I love anything having to do with art and, folks, custom painting in any terms is surely an art. My dad agreed to teach me and since he is based out of Florida, I took off to Florida (you can imagine they really had to twist my arm as it was the middle of December). He took two weeks and taught be the basics of custom painting which isn’t enough time, but thats all we had to work with. I have since taught myself other techniques and ways to give my orders a professional look. I am still learning and the day I quit learning is the day I hang up my paint gun, turn off the paint booth and walk away…it truly is an art form all its own. So there you go, this has been a brief history on the Red/Blue Enigma and the people who have wrestled with this beast.
