Our Story

Kevin, Mel,
and the road
between ideas.

After COVID hit, life pushed us out of the old routine and onto the open road. What started as a simple plan to travel turned into something bigger: a chance to rebuild, rethink, and create. In 2020, Kevin began painting again — first small pieces, then full canvases inspired by the places we passed through. Those paintings became the spark that led to our first brand, An Old Man’s Art, a way to share the journey through original artwork. As we kept traveling, the art kept growing. People loved the designs, and we realized the road was giving us endless inspiration — sunsets, backroads, lighthouses, motorcycles, wildlife, and all the strange, beautiful moments you only see when you’re out there. That’s when the idea expanded into An Old Man’s Art & Apparel, turning Kevin’s paintings and digital artwork into shirts people could actually wear. Now, as full‑time travelers, we create from the road every day. Sketches in the RV, photos from the places we stop, digital art built from real moments — all of it comes together in our newest evolution: Smokin Lizard Designs, a gritty, bold, travel‑driven apparel line built for people who live life outside the lines. This is our journey. This is our art. And every design comes from somewhere real.

Explore the work Shop the collection

Studio Note - canvas, paper and wood

Where it started

2020

It started with paint.

Kevin began painting in 2020 - work made on canvas, paper and wood, one piece at a time. There was no brand yet, only the habit of making something out of what he was looking at.

Those early paintings set the tone everything else still follows: real subjects, drawn by hand, finished with care.

Then came the road

2023

The scenery changed.
So did the ideas.

In 2023 we sold our house, took a deep breath, and bought an RV we named LoLa. After years of dreaming about seeing the country from coast to coast, we finally decided retirement was our moment to go. LoLa became our home on wheels, carrying us from the beaches of the East to the wide-open skies of the West, through small towns, big mountains, and places we spent a lifetime talking about but never visiting. Now we’re traveling the country together, living simply, creating art, and finally experiencing the America we always wanted to see

01 Lighthouses
02 Fishing boats
03 Bikers
04 Pelicans
05 Old storefronts
06 Back roads
07 Unexpected moments

LoLa our home on wheels

The process

From something seen
to something worn.

01

See it

Real experiences, places, people and observations spark the idea.
02

Sketch it

An Old Man's Art gives the idea form through sketches, paintings and personal artistic voice.
03

Build it

Smokin' Lizard Designs develops, refines and directs the artwork into production.
04

Release it

The finished work becomes part of a themed collection of wearable art.

The creative house

One artist.
One studio.
Many collections.

The work is organized under a single creative world - the artist, the studio that develops the work, and the collections that give each release its theme.

The artist identity

An Old Man's Art and Apparel

The personal creative voice behind everything - the story, the paintings, the sketches, and the human side of the work.

The design studio

Smokin' Lizard Digital Designs

Where ideas are developed, refined, and directed into finished apparel and merchandise. The studio lives within the broader An Old Man's Art and Apparel.

The collections

Octo Line

Signature octopus-machine fusion art.

Iron & Ink

Premium biker and tattoo-inspired artwork.

More collections will follow

The process evolves

The tool changed.
The starting point didn't.

The ideas still begin with real places, sketches, paintings and observations. Digital tools allow the artwork to be refined, adapted, prepared for print and continued while traveling - one idea becoming several finished designs.