Killer Kreations

One look at the artwork/airbrushing that Fred Sicoli does and for sure you’ll be blown away at the amazing talent he has. The intricate detail and precise airbrush work he puts into all of his designs is almost unreal, as they seem to pop up from their medium in a 3D way. In one word, they are killer; probably one reason why he named his shop Killer Kreations based out of South Philadelphia. The self-taught artist is blazing the airbrush scene with his superior talents and quickly growing into a hot commodity within the aftermarket/customization scene.

Known for his street bike works of art, Sicoli, 35, and his team at Killer Kreations will tackle any truck, rod or chopper that drives through the studio. They’ll also lay their magic on all types of helmets, surfboards, skateboards, snowboards, and canvases, as well as airbrush murals on the walls of homes and restaurants. All work done at Killer Kreations is produced by Sicoli himself, with work taking as little as 2-3 weeks or as long as 8-10 weeks, depending on the type of project.

Having worked on so many projects to date, his most favorite one has to be the green “Horror” bike that features villainous characters . “The colors and the way the characters came out are amazing,” he describes. “It’s so different and unique; definitely not something you’d normally see on the street.” While he hasn’t met his most challenging request concerning artwork yet, he considers the TapouT “Mask” memorial bike to be his hardest project to date because of the time constraints he faced to finish it. “It was given to me last minute, and I had to have it completely done to show at the 2009 SEMA Show. It was a very stressful project.”

With an interest in art brewing since he was a boy, Sicoli, has more than 15 years of airbrushing experience. He always knew his future would involve art and right after high school began his first artistic business venture doing screen printing and tees. “It didn’t go so well like I thought it was going to be, so my father suggested that I try doing automotive stuff and artwork for cars,” he describes about how he got into his current specialty. “One of my dad’s friends had a motorcycle and I painted it. Everybody loved how it turned out, and I made a lot of money on it. I decided to continue it and just started getting bigger customers from there.”

Growing into the notable entity that Killer Kreations has become over the past year took some time for Sicoli, who faced a couple of challenges in his career and personal life. “There was a real rough period for a while—my mom passed away and then I lost my previous place to a flood,” he says. “I was driving around in a van for two years doing work out of it. I was literally going from spot to spot.” It wasn’t until two years ago that Sicoli’s luck had changed and he got back on his feet. Now, he has a TV show in the works, is booked months in advance for his work, has several employees working for him and is expanding the business to include various mediums of art, including his own clothing line.

“We’re trying to reach out to TLC,” he explains about the show. “It’s not going to be about bikes or cars, but more about the artwork, what we do at the shop and our lives. We have a bunch of characters working here, and the clients that come in have stories behind them.” Some interesting story he mentioned was of a war veteran who wanted his prosthetic leg airbrushed.

While Sicoli’s main work at the moment involves bikes and other automotive-related things, he’d like to transition into doing more canvas and illustration work since that’s where his artistic roots lie. “I like doing bikes, but I’m getting older and they take up a lot of work,” he says. “The project has to be really intensive for me to get excited about it.” The reason he doesn’t get excited for his automotive work as much is because he doesn’t get to keep any of it. “You put all this time and devotion into it just to see it drive away. I wish I could keep all my pieces of art work, but can’t. It’s a much better feeling with canvas paintings since I can always have them there if I want.”

As his reputation expands and his client Rolodex increases, Sicoli wants to grow Killer Kreations as a world renowned shop and become a well recognized artist. “Painters all over make things look good and not many people know who we are,” he says. “I don’t want to be in the background anymore. I want to become the first airbrush guy to have his first TV show. I have a ton of ideas and it’s only a matter of time until they become reality.”

Photos: Mike Kuczynski