Skateboard graphics have always been a prominent aesthetic within the sport, from Birdhouse's hawk skull to World Industries' little devil and even the old-school Powell-Peralta bones.

But after a few skating sessions, the paint is chipped and scraped away and it becomes another used and abused piece of equipment.

When skateboarder and Parks and Recreation board member Austin Lee, 14, picked out the locally-designed skate deck he was going to bid on at the Skate Unity silent auction fundraiser, he had no intentions on letting the paint meet concrete. Lee, like a few others at the event, was looking for a piece of art to hang on the wall.

Skate Unity at the Red Carpet Event Center featured skateboard decks that were designed and painted by local high school and college artists. The decks were up for silent auction to help raise money for the St. Cloud skate plaza.

Lee's favorite was a deck designed with Sharpie markers in a Bob Dylan music theme by Tech High School student Dan Nyden. The skateboards up for bid had numerous different themes, and many of them had little to do with skateboarding — there was a rubber chicken, a few abstract designs, a paisley themed deck and others.

The event brought art and skateboarding communities together and featured music in the later hours by The Receders. Attendees were also able to take a look at the proposed plans for the skate plaza in 3D designed by SJA Architects.

Seeing all those skateboards made me think of my first professional deck. It was a double-vision by Vision — one of the first twin-kick boards. I painted the top of the deck with some cartoon characters I created and covered it with clear grip tape. Now that's old-school.