Turning your passion into a career is not for the faint of heart! It takes drive, hard work, determination, some grace, and a lot of grit. Upon meeting Brittnea “Lady Lines” Barnes (32), owner of Lady Lines Pinstriping, for the first time after seeing her work, grit is one thing I knew she possessed. With that grit, she encompasses grace – in her work, her presentation, and in her personality.
For those unsure of its meaning, grit is having an indomitable spirit, and a drive for achievement regardless of the upbringing or situation. It is earning the success in the trenches through hard work. Those who have grit, have the drive and passion for something so great it sees them through the struggles, trials, and tribulations.
Brittnea’s parents met by chance, considering they lived in two different states. Her dad, who was born and raised in Louisiana, went up to Washington for work at one point, and met her mother. They ended up getting married and then stayed in Washington. Growing up with her parents and her three siblings in Washington, life mostly revolved around hot rods for Brittnea. She had attended plenty of car shows, hot rod related events, and her father even started a hot rod shop of his own.
Over the years, she grew a love and fascination with the pinstriping she would see. Sometimes it isn’t about us finding a chosen path – sometimes it is someone seeing something in us we weren’t aware of. Such is the case when a family friend who had a bunch of cars, went along with her father, and gave Brittnea her first brush and can of paint in 2007. He told her to start practicing because that “bunch of cars” he had needed pinstriping.
The first car show Brittnea was able to pinstripe at was the 2008 Good Guys Car Show and Panel Jam at the show’s location in Puyallup, WA. A panel jam is where artists come together to paint custom pinstriped pieces. For Brittnea, it was the opportunity to practice alongside some amazing artists.
Back around the summer of 2003 she made a trip to Louisiana with her Mimi and Papa (her grandparents on her dad’s side), which happened to be the same trip where she met her future husband, Cameron. She decided that she was going to move to Louisiana when she got older, and she did just that in 2011. Her three siblings also moved down there, and about eight years ago, her parents decided since the kids moved, they would, too.
Something she attends every year in October is the Cruisin The Coast event in Biloxi, MS which is the home of the world’s largest cruise. Brittnea said just in registration alone, not counting the total of vehicles actually present, there were over 10,000. While in attendance, Brittnea is busy for ten days straight, pinstriping vehicles at this event.
Where did pinstriping semi-trucks start? After the October 2020 Cruisin The Coast, Lindsey Stout had been scrolling through the posts on the event’s Facebook page and came upon a post where Brittnea was tagged pinstriping. Lindsey contacted her on Messenger stating her husband Dustin had always wanted his truck pinstriped. His Peterbilt was the first big truck she pinstriped on November 14, 2020. Six days later, she quit her two jobs and went full force into scheduling and pinstriping full time. The first truck show she attended was in the spring of 2021 at the Crossroads Truck Meet in California, MO put on by Horse & Buggy Accessories, where she pinstriped a red Mack, which is the first truck she did at a truck show.
Today, Brittnea resides in Arcadia, LA with her husband Cameron, along with their French Bulldog, two cats, two cows, and eight chickens! Her foot hasn’t let off the gas (or diesel if you consider her pickup that she drives all over the country) since she started this gig with pinstriping full time, and she doesn’t see that slowing down anytime soon. She has now fully embraced striping big rigs and has done well over 200 trucks over the last three and a half years. However, not forgetting her roots, she still stripes hot rods, which she also enjoys.
For the most part, Brittnea travels all over the country by herself, but she openly admits, the hardest part of these trips is leaving home. She tries to be home as much as she can, but like most who are involved in some form of art in the trucking industry, the busy season starts as the first show of the year gets closer and goes throughout the entire summer and fall, for sure, if not longer. Cameron cuts and bales hay for a living so his busy season is basically the same as hers. Their foundation of being best friends and the love they share is what sees them through the time apart. And when winter hits, he usually accompanies her on her trips. Her longest time on the road has been 28 days, but she doesn’t intend to have a repeat of that.
Special thanks from Brittnea goes out to her father Andrew who, according to her, “was definitely part of the make it go fast or make it look cool era.” She has so much to thank him for that she didn’t know where to start. She said the paint work he does is phenomenal, and he pushed her way past what she thought was her passion. And to her mother Dee, who she can’t thank enough for always being there for her, for everything she has done for her, and for always being her number one fan.
Thanks also to Gil Starkey, the aforementioned family friend who aided in her getting set up with her first brush and can of paint. To Bob Davidson, John “Irish” Kelly and the many mentors from Good Guys Panel Jam in Puyallup, WA. To Dustin and Lindsey Stout for giving her an opportunity to stripe on a semi and, like many others, who also became family. A big shout out to all of her customers for the opportunities and trusting her expertise. Thank you to Kevin Babler for the continued business and solid friendship. Saving the best for last, heartfelt thanks goes to her husband Cameron for all the love, support, and as she said, “I simply wouldn’t be where I am without him.”
Normally my articles feature an owner and their truck, but different areas of the industry deserve to be highlighted, as well. I found I relate with Brittnea in that we don’t come from trucking backgrounds. There have been roads traveled and less traveled, inevitably leading us to where we are today. Her favorite quote happens to be Proverbs 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” There are a variety of meanings to this if you search on the internet, but if you see Brittnea interacting with others, you see someone who is humble with a willingness to help others, and that is a translation everyone can understand. She also said that if you have a passion for something that you could make a career out of, let it drive you. Don’t be scared to jump and don’t stop chasing that goal.
I met Brittnea for the first time at the 2021 Guilty By Association Truck Show (GBATS) in Joplin, MO. I believe this holds true for anyone that has come in contact with her, that she has that warm kind of personality that you are drawn to. It is both refreshing and admirable to see a woman enter a sector of the trucking industry. The passion in her art is so cool to see, but even cooler to watch her actually laying lines.
Lady Lines Pinstriping, as the name of Brittnea’s company, came to be when she used to be a part of a pinstriping forum where artists would share their work. Someone had commented with “Lady Lines” and it just stuck. Brittnea can be contacted through her Facebook page “Lady Lines Pinstriping” or on her website (www.ladylinespinstriping.com) by clicking “Request a booking.” She only asks for patience in response times as she has many messages to go through and she works a lot.
This has been such a wonderful opportunity to get to know Brittnea on a different level than just business and provide to others a little more about her, her passion for pinstriping, and the grit and grace she has to stand apart from everyone else. Thank you, Brittnea, for the conversations, the inspiration, your time, and the opportunity to tell some of your story. As always, to all the drivers (and non-drivers) out there doing the deal, truck safe.
