Artist Biography

Born and raised in Eden, North Carolina, Darryl Strader felt the burn of his creativity begin to develop very early. His work and knowledge in the automotive custom painting field began close to the young age of 7. His step father - Joe Chatman, a well known custom painter and street rod builder - provided the tools and knowledge for Darryl to begin his adventure in paint. Darryl learned what it took from the ground up to create a true custom paint masterpiece. Perfection in every piece became the goal that was strived for. Darryl's imagination and artistic abilities also grew at a rapid rate. His first time using the airbrush all things fell into place making him very unique with the ability to produce and create the art and custom paint from beginning to end. Enlisting in the US Navy at the age of 17 Darryl continued to grow and gain a steadfast devotion to everything he sought to accomplish. Even in the Navy Darryl continued to paint and create artwork all over the world. His integrity and loyalty also provided the platform to become an instructor for an internationally distributed airbrush magazine as well as one of the main instructors for a world renown fine art artist and illustrator. Darryl Strader's work has won numerous awards and honors. Retiring after 21 years of service to our country as a US Navy Chief, Darryl has taken his experiences and translated them to fine art masterpieces, beginning with his first piece entitled "Strong Arm of Freedom" which depicts an F-18 on the horizon with an eagle ghosted into the skyline. The piece entitled "Birds Away" shows the true power behind every individual launch of missile defense we release. A tribute painting, "The Watch" shows our great American Eagle overlooking Arlington National Cemetery and is dedicated to our country's service men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our way of life here in the United States. The emotions conveyed in this piece continually leave viewers speechless. As a US Veteran Darryl Strader has truly earned the right and has the experiences to pull from the depths of his soul and awaken the spirit within others. Darryl's knowledge, work ethics, professionalism and devotion have proven the foundation for his custom paint and artwork that has made him one of the great automotive and fine arts artist today. Even with Darryl's paintings and prints being sold around the world and his automotive art winning numerous awards abroad, Darryl maintains a grounded and humble approach to his work and a devotion that is unsurpassed giving him the drive to "Making Dreams & Visions a Reality". With nearly 30 years experience in the custom paint industry, the inevitable migration into fine art was just a matter of time for Darryl. His imagination and precision in his work has earned him clients from all over the country as Darryl Strader continues to "raise the bar" in the art community.