VALDOSTA — Morris McGee has an eye for art.

McGee has been working in auto body shops since he was a teenager at Cook High School.

Self-employed since 1988, McGee has turned a passion for automobiles and a love for art into a bustling business.

Morris McGee Body Shop at 233 E. Hill Ave. is hard to miss. Parked outside are two wreckers, one an iridescent purple, the other bright green.

McGee’s wreckers are part of his advertisement for business, all of the artwork on the vehicles was done by McGee.

It took McGee almost two years to airbrush the hordes of monsters and skulls on wife Melissa’s green wrecker.

The art on both sides of the truck mirror each other except for a few subtle differences in the skull faces.

On one side a skull has hands over its face. On the other side, in the exact same spot, the skull has dollar signs in its eyes.

This is the mark of a man who knows how to make a statement.

McGee said he started working in body shops when he was in the eighth grade. After school he would go to the shop and work.

“I’ve been doing this about 38 years,” he said. “I like taking cars into the body shop and restoring them, making them look brand new.”

Through the years, the majority of McGee’s business has centered around fixing cars damaged in accidents.

When the economy started to flounder, McGee said the auto repair work decreased, so he started doing restoration and customized work.

Business is booming, he said.

“I got tired of dealing with the insurance companies and decided to do other stuff,” McGee said.