Ask Victoria-based airbrush artist and rock and roll art specialist Paul Archer about late rock virtuoso Eddie Van Halen and the typically upbeat 60-year-old strikes a sombre tone.

A longtime fan of the iconic guitarist, Archer says news of Van HalenB次元官网网址檚 Oct. 6 death, after a lengthy bout with cancer, hit him hard. He was wrapping up a massive mural project in Grand Forks, B.C. and vowed to be the first street artist to muralize the musical legend.

B次元官网网址淲hen we lose somebody really important on the planet, whether itB次元官网网址檚 a celebrity or an athlete or somebody or something that everybody was inspired by B次元官网网址� even Takaya the wolf B次元官网网址� I like to do a tribute or a memorial,B次元官网网址� Archer says.

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A few weekends back he worked feverishly to produce a lifelike rendering of the rock icon in action, wielding his trademark red-with-white-stripes guitar and wearing matching overalls. A cinderblock wall behind ArcherB次元官网网址檚 Fort Street gallery is the canvas for the two-storey high airbrushed painting.

The mural has attracted international attention on social media, and many people familiar with ArcherB次元官网网址檚 local paintings of rock icons have stopped by to check it out.

One local musician who was inspired by Van HalenB次元官网网址檚 revolutionary playing style in the late 1970s and mourns his passing, was excited to be photographed with the giant image of his guitar hero. Tomo Vranjes has been in bands in Victoria roughly 40 years and says he still injects Van HalenB次元官网网址檚 intricate fingerings into his guitar solos.

B次元官网网址淚 was going a little bit of the punk way [originally] and then I heard [Van Halen] and I said, B次元官网网址業 want to play like that guy,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Vranjes recalls. B次元官网网址淚 think Van Halen brought rock and roll back.B次元官网网址�

Archer says Van Halen was B次元官网网址渓ike a Mozart, like a Beethoven of our era and a lot of people donB次元官网网址檛 even know that.B次元官网网址�

But the artist was not just an admirer, he has very personal treasured memories of the man.

In 1980 Archer was a stagehand at the old Memorial Arena, when the band Van Halen was on tour in Victoria. He was building a light assembly on stage before the show when something caught his eye.

B次元官网网址淎ll of a sudden these bright shoes and bright pants walked right up to where I was working B次元官网网址� I was smoking at the time B次元官网网址� and Eddie Van Halen says, B次元官网网址榶ou got another smoke?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Archer obliged and the two got chatting. Van Halen had heard Victoria was B次元官网网址渓ike little England,B次元官网网址� and wanted fish and chips. Archer recommended a shop downtown and was ready to provide directions, but was stunned when Van Halen said, B次元官网网址榥o, no, youB次元官网网址檙e coming.B次元官网网址�

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The two chatted for over an hour at the eatery about all manner of things, Archer says.

Later on at the arena, Archer nodded to Van Halen, who was tuning his guitars. The rocker invited his lunchmate in, chatted more and gave him a handful of personalized guitar picks B次元官网网址� Archer says theyB次元官网网址檙e worth quite a bit today. The crewman assumed a guitar tech would take the instruments onstage, but Van Halen asked him, B次元官网网址榙o you wanna do it?B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址滻 said B次元官网网址榓bsolutely!B次元官网网址� So I got to haul both of his guitars and carry them up on stage,B次元官网网址� Archer says with a grin. He crossed paths with Van Halen and the band twice more working their shows in Vancouver.

On the weekend of the mural painting Archer battled rain and cold, using tarps and heaters to keep the elements from affecting his precious project. It was a labour of love, he says, and was completed to a soundtrack of Van Halen music.

B次元官网网址淲hen IB次元官网网址檓 painting someone that has passed B次元官网网址� I can almost feel them, with the music in the background and youB次元官网网址檙e working, itB次元官网网址檚 almost like theyB次元官网网址檙e there. And thatB次元官网网址檚 what it felt like when I was doing the Eddie one.B次元官网网址�

Find the mural off Broughton Street behind ArcherB次元官网网址檚 gallery at 847 Fort St.

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