As a surfer growing up in Virginia Beach, Troy Summerell (’02) would sketch waves in his notebooks in school. When one of his boards broke, he would refurbish it as art, sell it and use the money to buy a new one.
It wasn’t until after he had graduated from JMU with a degree in business and was back home managing a restaurant that he decided to try his hand at art as a career.
“I sat down and I drew some pictures and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ve got something here.’”
Summerell’s coastal themes featured colorful florals and
larger-than-life sea creatures. But something wasn’t quite right. Then it hit
him. If his work was going to have an impact, it had to be positive. “I’ve
gotta make all these fish and turtles smile,” he said. “I redrew everything,
and I’ve done it that way ever since.”
He named his business OnieTonie Designs after his late grandmother, who volunteered at a local hospital for more than 30 years.
As Summerell’s reputation as an artist grew, so did his portfolio. Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters hired him to spruce up the second floor of its Urgent Care building in Virginia Beach with his smiling fish. Then he did the same for the hospital’s fleet of ambulances.
OnieTonie Designs also has been commissioned for redevelopment projects in the Hampton Roads region, including dilapidated buildings, school cafeterias, rundown basketball courts, and vans that deliver hot showers, toothbrushes, socks and shoes to the local homeless population.
His goal is to design hospital kits for children battling cancer. For Summerell, it’s a dream that hits close to home. When he was 6, his younger cousin was diagnosed with leukemia.
“My plan has always been to wrap the hospital hallways with my positive imagery, and at the same time give socks and gowns, a coloring book—a full packet of things—to the kids as they go through treatment,” he said.
