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There’s a certain thrill that comes with walking around town and being able to see signs you’ve made, artworks you’ve created. That’s according to Damian ‘Gadget’ Rossiter, the man behind Gadget’s Signs and Murals. He’s worked on the mural at the Burnie library, he’s the man behind the new West Beach Cycles logo, and next up he’s creating a mural up at the Kmart carpark. It’s fair to say he’s left his mark throughout Burnie. “If a car drives past that you did, you say to your partner or your kid ‘we did that’ or ‘I did that sign over there’, you do feel pretty proud,” Gadget said. “That’s the cool thing about sign-writing. You go to work everyday like everyone else does, but say you’re a welder – you don’t walk past a frame and say ‘check out that frame I built’. “It’s different, because it looks cool, and it beautifies the area. Even signs, it makes things look good.” Gadget started his sign business in 2019, and said demand – particularly for community projects – has continued to grow. While it can be stressful, he said murals and local public artworks are the jobs he enjoys the most. “All I ever did at school was art. I grew up just loving drawing,” Gadget said. “At the moment, I like aerosol murals most because paint brush murals take forever. I’ve got a couple of murals out there that have taken about 100 hours. “By the time you finish that, everything hurts and you don’t want to do it anymore.” In contrast, the work by the library took about 40 hours thanks to the helping hands of Parklands High School students. RELATED: Parklands High School redecorate Burnie Library for Youth Week “It sparks their interest,” Gadget said. “Most of the kids have never touched spay cans before, and by the end of the day they know what they’re doing. “A lot of the kids that pick it up well are the ones who’ve always had an interest in it but have never done anything with it. “So you can see, all of a sudden, they’re like ‘oh this is cool, I can do this’. And then they start seeing what they can paint at home, going through Dad’s paint shed.” While working on signs for businesses is currently a key focus of his business, he said he believes there’s room for more public art in Burnie. “There’s a few more project (popping up) and a few things we’re about to do. It’s only going to get bigger.” Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
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There’s a certain thrill that comes with walking around town and being able to see signs you’ve made, artworks you’ve created.
GO GO GADGET: Damian ‘Gadget’ Rossiter says he is “flat out” doing community projects. Picture: Simon Sturzaker
He’s worked on the mural at the Burnie library, he’s the man behind the new West Beach Cycles logo, and next up he’s creating a mural up at the Kmart carpark.
It’s fair to say he’s left his mark throughout Burnie.
I’ve got a couple of murals out there that have taken about 100 hours.
Damian ‘Gadget’ Rossiter
“If a car drives past that you did, you say to your partner or your kid ‘we did that’ or ‘I did that sign over there’, you do feel pretty proud,” Gadget said.
“That’s the cool thing about sign-writing. You go to work everyday like everyone else does, but say you’re a welder – you don’t walk past a frame and say ‘check out that frame I built’.
“It’s different, because it looks cool, and it beautifies the area. Even signs, it makes things look good.”
Gadget started his sign business in 2019, and said demand – particularly for community projects – has continued to grow.
“All I ever did at school was art. I grew up just loving drawing,” Gadget said.
NEW PROJECTS: Gadget says his workload has been steadily increasing. Picture: Simon Sturzaker
“At the moment, I like aerosol murals most because paint brush murals take forever. I’ve got a couple of murals out there that have taken about 100 hours.
“By the time you finish that, everything hurts and you don’t want to do it anymore.”
In contrast, the work by the library took about 40 hours thanks to the helping hands of Parklands High School students.
“It sparks their interest,” Gadget said.
“Most of the kids have never touched spay cans before, and by the end of the day they know what they’re doing.
“A lot of the kids that pick it up well are the ones who’ve always had an interest in it but have never done anything with it.
“So you can see, all of a sudden, they’re like ‘oh this is cool, I can do this’. And then they start seeing what they can paint at home, going through Dad’s paint shed.”
While working on signs for businesses is currently a key focus of his business, he said he believes there’s room for more public art in Burnie.
“There’s a few more project (popping up) and a few things we’re about to do. It’s only going to get bigger.”
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
