By ALICIA ROBERTS | News Channel 8
Published: June 2, 2010

TAMPA - Artist Jason Hulfish paints murals as big as the imaginations of the children who sleep among the fire-breathing dragons, open-sea pirates and beautiful princesses he brings to life in their bedrooms.

Although Hulfish admits he was one of those kids who sketched designs in his notebook at school while he was supposed to be taking notes, his initial artscapes were a bit smaller in scale.

“I started doing T-shirt designs,” he admits. “My friends liked them and said, ‘Hey, can you put this on my wall?’ One thing led to another.”

Bringing form and function to fantasy takes work. Hulfish designs each room with one-of-a-kind murals, painting each from floor to ceiling. He also incorporates custom furniture such as a pirate or princess-carriage bed that he creates and builds.

The 39-year-old artist grew up in St. Petersburg and lives in Tampa. He went to college as a pre-med chemistry major, decided it wasn’t for him, and joined the corporate world for a while. He started painting murals at friends’ homes and turned his passion into a full-time job in 2005.

“It’s very hard work, with ladders, scaffolding,” Hulfish says. “Most of these jobs are construction sites. It’s 100-plus degrees in there, and there are people jackhammering tile. People think it’s very glamorous, but it’s not.”

He paints seascapes, pirate scenes, fairytale kingdoms and medieval-inspired playrooms. Typically, he charges about $1,000 to $1,500 for a wall; whole rooms, including ceilings, start at about $5,000. It takes him about two weeks to complete a room.

He’s also painted common areas at the Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High in Tampa, the Ronald McDonald House at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Square One Burgers in Tampa. Hulfish paints by hand, using airbrushing and hand-drawn images, then shading and contouring to bring the pictures to life.

You won’t see Hulfish’s work at his home. Like many artists, he is his biggest critic.

“I would never be able to enjoy it,” he says, laughing. “My mind would keep thinking of ways I could have made it better.”

Most of Hulfish’s clients hear of him through word-of-mouth. Right now, he’s working on a project that will take him through August.

VIDEO: Tampa Mural Artist Brings Kids’ Imaginations to Life