Artist, pilot conquered fears to create St. Pete's famous flying mural

The kaleidoscopic rainbow taking flight over St. Pete isn't an exotic bird or refraction of light. It's the " Mooney Anomaly ," a four-passenger plane turned flying mural.

Why it matters: Artist Matt Kress and pilot Liam Hawkins almost didn't get their dreams off the ground. They hope the "Anomaly" inspires others to follow theirs.

Flashback: Kress worked a desk job for 15 years after graduating from art school for fear he'd never make a living as a painter.

• Then he moved to St. Pete and saw a path to success in the mural-covered town.
• After participating in local shows and selling his work, the Buccaneers gave him his first mural contract in 2018. Now, his canvas wall art can be seen around the country.

Meanwhile: Hawkins took at least a thousand flights over the same timeframe to conquer his aerophobia. "Every bump, every noise, every look a flight attendant gave drove fear," he told Axios.

• Yes, but: "The only thing worse than how I felt in a plane was the idea of failing" to overcome that feeling.
• He got his pilot's license and later bought the 1967 Mooney M20F that would become the "Anomaly."

Between the lines: A mobile mural makes sense in St. Pete (we're running out of wall space after all) and it's common to see custom-painted cars. But Kress and Hawkins say art and aviation have never intersected like this.

• Several aircraft paint shops said no before Ace Aircraft Painting in Bartow let Kress come in and work with their paint and coatings.
• "When we walked down this path I had no idea we were pioneering an idea," Kress told Axios.

What they're saying: Even after a year and a half of flying the "Anomaly" from Albert Whitted Airport, Hawkins says it still gets a constant stream of attention.

• " Air traffic controllers talk to me about it as I'm trying to land the thing. People come up to me or shout over the fence at the airport, yelling, 'Hey what is that?'"

What's ahead: Hawkins is flying the plane to Wisconsin next month for EAA Airventure Oshkosh, the world's largest air show. Next year, it'll be the focal point of the world's second-largest: Lakeland's Sun 'n Fun.

• Hawkins hopes to inspire future pilots at those shows, especially those underrepresented in aviation, including women, racial minorities and young people.