Art, a Gathering... and an Invader

If you've been reading this blog for any time, you undoubtedly know about my involvement with Motorburg.com, the community, forum and magazine for automotive artists, designers and enthusiasts (and if you've been looking for just such a place, get over there and join in the fun!). I bring this up because over in the 'Burg, we have some HUGE things planned... Most notably the Motorburg Design Center to be featured at the 41st NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, KY, August 5-8, 2010.

Motorburg’s associate artist list reads like a “who’s who” of rod & custom art and design and includes: Darrell Mayabb – Thom Taylor – Jimmy Smith – C•Cruz – Greg Tedder – Ralph Burch – Brian Stupski – C. Smith… as well as CARtoon greats Nelson Dewey and Errol McCarthy. The Design Center gallery will display art by these associates as well as prints and portfolios by Motorburg’s talented forum members.

The exhibit will feature the Charlie Smith designed 1941 Buick Centurion Roadster – a removable-top beauty built by the late Egon Necelis and still turning heads after more than twenty years “on the road”. Of special interest will be the display of the “Invader” – America’s Most Beautiful Roadster in both 1967 & ‘68 and the subject of a Motorburg Forum design challenge.  You’ll also get to watch as artists work in the exhibit’s two design studios, in traditional and digital fashion. The public is invited to get up close and personal as the designers do their magic on paper and monitor.

Additionally, the exhibit will display several rods and customs designed by the stylists, along with drawings and illustrations involved in the actual build.So, stop by and “talk shop” with the artists, builders and industry guests at the “Motorburg Design Center”. They’re in space 1001 through 1003 that's 20-feet by 70-feet of eye candy and artistic inspiration!)  at this year’s NSRA Nats.

Aside from the plotting, planning and organization (as well as trying to get the word out there about the event) for the Design Center, it's been steady in the Studio, which is great. I took a little time and pounded out some work which had been burrowing a hole in the right half of my brain, and used up the last of the Masonite in the garage:

...as well as a few client works that went a step beyond the typical rendering, and grew into little chunks of fine art all their own:

That said, hope you dig the new stuff (check out the website, and see about having your own hot rod art created!), and please spread the word about the Motorburg Design Center! Hope to see you there!

One Lap T-Shirts!

How cool is this:

I get a call from James one afternoon, and he starts to tell me the story of his Camaro, and how he runs the One Lap of America event... and I immediately think "I know the car.... and this guy's nuts to do it!"

Long story short (I know... since when does Brian do THAT??! ...it's VERY busy in the mighty Studio, and I gotta get back at it), we talked for a while, and he asked if I'd be so kind as to whip up a t-shirt to help them promote their effort, and hopefully buy a few tanks of gas, as well as some road food for he and David, his co-pilot. Suffice to say, I was sketching before we hung up.

Anyway, that's what I came up with, and we think it hammers home the whole idea quite neatly... Here's a closer look at the artwork:

The front features the One Lap Camaro logo (as seen on the back in the artwork above) on the left chest... kinda like this:

They're VERY cool, and the reception so far has been nothing short of awesome. These are high-=quality, 6-oz. tee's, and are printed by one of the best-known, highest quality shops on the West Coast... And you can grab a few by simply firing off an email to the guys at: shirts@onelapcamaro.com, and letting them know how many you'd like, and in what sizes... The cost will be $20 for the shirt and $5 for shipping and handling (within the Continental US). Pre-orders will start today and they hope to have shirts available at the Run To The Coast event the first weekend in April (Goodguys Del Mar the weekend after at the latest).

All of the proceeds will go to feeding David and James for the week; your purchase will guarantee that they can enjoy as many as 2 meals a day at some of the finest establishments ever to grace the side of an interstate.

Thanks for checking 'em out, and for supporting some true grass-roots racing gone good!

...and hey.... if I can be of use to design YOUR next killer shirt, hit me up on the site at www.problemchildkustoms.com!

Adopting the Gonzo Approach

Many years ago, I was introduced to the work of a writer named Hunter S. Thompson. Bear in mind that this "introduction" came at a pivotal point in my creative career, and I was completely drawn to his style of not only writing, but his almost renegade technique of forming a story. Here was a journalist who not only covered the news at hand, but worked in a personal angle, often thrusting himself so deeply into the event he was covering so as to alter its outcome! "Absolute brilliance", I thought! Not mere "coverage" or "reporting", but LIVING it!

This was just too much... This guy GOT it! To a student of Fine art, this was the epitome of "creating" anything: Living it! Thompson's style of news came to be known as "Gonzo Journalism", and the name packs the energy rightfully reserved for this all-out, sensory attack, in which the writer himself becomes an integral part of the story. Somewhere between the facts, self-interjection and commentary, the truth lay in wait. This was the sort of writing I had done since I could first form sentences... I had found someone who had paved the way before me, and man, I was digging this. Taking something that has always been deemed as objective, and beating it into something much cooler and entertainingly subjective... showing that a subject or event could have an effect on the writer, and then, at times becoming a part of that story was just simple logic to me... After all, how interesting is just blowing some facts all over a sheet of paper (or a monitor!)? Stirring in (or up!) some emotion is key to creating compelling content. Anyone can say "gee, Stan... there was this one guy, and he said this, and the other guy said that. Then they shook hands." Wow. Not sure about you, but I'M drained from that story. What a cathartic experience... or NOT. Thompson would become the center of his work, very often blurring the line between "reporting" facts and "influencing" a story. He interjected opinion, an energy, and most of all, an experience.

That said, I began to look at this field of automotive art that I work in, and feel a bit depressed. It's gone from the fun, energetic industry to a machine full of photo-real, computer-generated imagery lately. The landscape is littered with 3-D models and tracings of the same-old, same-old.

Doesn't anyone just DRAW anymore?!

The creative projects... the REALLY wild customs and out-of-the-box hot rods are the ones that inspire and push the hobby to that next level... they've become fewer and further between. It's become... well, "safe". We're flooded with near stock-looking blah-mobiles drawn with a lack of personality, often with the actual car being just the same bland cookie-cutter crap over and over again. Wow... a photo-real 3D model of a '69 Camaro on aftermarket wheels... just like those other ones! What the hell happened?! It was as though Henry L. Mencken's "bathtub hoax" had brought some new lease on life in the car community. As though someone started the rumor that renderings needed to be sterile, lackluster depictions of some uniform style, and by golly, the whole group jumped the bandwagon, eating up the words and carrying it right into the common belief system they'd developed. Worse yet, I saw it start to occur in my own work as well from time to time, and it made me take a step back, and in doing that, I had a moment of absolute clarity.

I took the past couple of months and began heading back to what made this whole automotive illustration gig so appealing to me at the start: The ENERGY!! I pondered just what makes a rendering so valuable to a project, and beyond the financial (sponsor opportunities, press, etc) and communication (illustrating the modifications) value, it all boils down to CREATING EXCITEMENT! Simply looking at a photograph of a car can be cool, sure, but you're seeing something COMPLETE, FINISHED... and it removes the emotional response, the natural impulse to IMAGINE. To look at the idea SUBJECTIVELY!! By leaving just enough to the imagination, just enough room to interpret something, some part as YOUR OWN, you don't just LOOK at the work, you EXPERIENCE it!!

This is why I leave some loose lines among the tightened concepts, some free-form areas to chance... I'm not nailing down parts, bit by bit from some "rule book" ("18's and 19's? Check. Suspension lowered exactly like every other car on that forum? Check. Billet parts here, here and here? Check. Correct valve covers so as to avoid the wrath of the Traditional Police? Check, check!"), I'm inventing a concept to be shared, interpreted... EXPERIENCED by not only the owner or builder of the car, but anyone who happens upon it. Anyone (and I repeat ANYONE... you, your kids, your neighbor's Grandmother) with access to a 3D model, or some tracing paper and a few pencils and markers, or worse yet, Photoshop, Google and some time can bash out a lifeless, non-creative turd, and have it celebrated by the easily duped masses... but the ones who can hammer down a concept, and show some life in the lines, some ENERGY... man... those are the pieces that stand up to time, and drop their pants at the lesser crap. Compare a Stanford rendering to some Photohack from a guy in a forum. Name your three favorite Jimmy Smith renderings, or Steve Stanford concepts, or Larry Wood designs. Easy, right? Now try to do the same for three photochops or 3D models. That's a pretty tough one, huh? And do you like those pieces you named because the artist kissed your ass on some online forum, or because the work stood out, elicited a RESPONSE in you?

Pretty creepy realization, huh?

I'm not about to fall victim to this absolute "dumbing-down" of the hot rod and custom car industry... Rather, I'm adopting the "Gonzo" style, and going at it with the passion that brought me here to begin with. What's great is that I've never really fit in to begin with, so if anyone takes offense or has their feelings hurt by my shift in priorities, I certainly don't have to hear the whining, or fear some drop in the number of cards sent my way over the Holidays. It's just me, my art, and the drive to push it until the son of a bitch breaks from the altitude. I'm not about to fall victim to trends... to having the need to be accepted because I'm doing the same thing fifteen other guys are currently latching onto.

Our pal Hunter (from the start of this whole mess) stated that "he that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master". Grand advice... and a central theme here in the Studio. Draw inspiration from as many sources as possible! I'm often looking to objects or art forms so removed from cars that even I begin to wonder how they'll apply... and it's a blast! I'll look at a painting and consider the brush strokes, and experiment, seeing how they might work in a current or future piece. Perhaps there's a rhythm in a song that just makes sense when laying down the lines on some graphics... It can come from almost anywhere. The key here, though, is KNOWING YOUR SUBJECT.

INTIMATELY.

Simply hacking a few photos together, or painting some digital model or tracing a picture doesn't grant you any more knowledge of designing a hot rod or custom car than does accidentally bumping a car in the parking lot with your shopping cart. When you take time to know the car, to understand the parts and pieces that make the whole... to look into the designer's mind and grasp where he was going and WHY, well, you're starting to grasp the idea. You're in no position to modify that car until you understand it. Going back to Dr. Thompson for a second (after all, he's the reason we got rolling on this anyway), he once wrote that "Fiction is based on reality. Unless you're a fairy-tale artist, you have to get your knowledge of life from somewhere. You have to know the material you're writing about before you alter it. " Incredibly wise indeed, and the big "why" that so many of these sterile, cold "renderings" lack that "punch"... the thrill, the excitement of a GREAT piece... the ones that make you take a step backward and yell "BITCHIN', MAN"!!

With all of that strewn on the table, I'm going to go back into the Studio and tear the next project a new one. I challenge you to go and do the same in the shop, and wow the snot out of everyone who experiences your Gonzo build.

Rendered Hope...

It’s here!!! The 2010 Rendered Hope Charity Calendar featuring transportation artwork from professional designers. This years calendar has a great mix of work from OEM, Hot Rod and Entertainment Designers. There is feature artwork from the hot Camaro, Corvette Stingray Concept, Scott Robertson’s crazy ships, west coast Hot Rods and more!

I was among the fortunate few to receive an invitation to be a part this year, and am stoked to have a piece featured among my heroes and colleagues, and even dragged legendary hot rod designer Charlie Smith along for the fun, adding a double-shot of Motorburg flavor to the mix! Just like last year 100% OF THE PROCEEDS will go toward buying Hot Wheels and toys for the Detroit Children’s Hospital annual Snow Pile Event. This is a great cause that you surely want to support... and you can certainly understand how incredible it is to see OEM guys giving back. Head on over to their merch store and grab a gift that not only supports a great cause, but gives back twelve times a year with some fantastic artwork! This is a great-quality and big calendar, too, at 11x17 with thick card stock and full bleed printing. Very high quality indeed, and with art from guys like Scott Robertson, yours truly, Micah Jones, Raza Bashir, Mark Weaver, Dustin Shedlarski, Wayne Manista, Charlie Smith, Dwayne Vance, Arvind Ramkrishna, and Sangyup Lee, it's a virtual "who's who" of OEM and hot rod design and artistry! Certainly a future collectible.

The calendar is a limited edition print and will be on sale now through the end of the year. So spread the word and get it while you can! We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to be involved with this project, and appreciate your help in getting the word out there more than can be expressed here. Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!

Resilience Storms the Midwest!

A HUGE congrats to our team, Tim, Carrie, Erik, Paul, Shawn and Dave on the outstanding showing of the mighty Buick this past weekend at the KKOA Leadsled Spectacular in Salina Kansas! The copper-colored cruiser grabbed the 777 Custom Crown Award, a John D-Agostino Best Contemporary Custom Award, and the revered Eldon Titus Memorial Design Award!

We're all just stoked to see this project getting recognition like this... We were fortunate to have assembled a truly dynamic team on this car, with visionary owners like Erik and Paul Hansen, a builder like Tim, and talented craftsmen like Dave and Shawn... We all just happened to click, and seeing others appreciate the end result is nothing short of incredible.



On a personal note, it's been absolutely mind-blowing to be a part of this all... As a kid, I had dreamed of going to a KKOA event, and had watched videos made by family friends, simply awestruck by the cars and the good times. Now, so many years later, seeing a car that I was fortunate to have created some doodles for and worked on such a creative high with an outstanding builder and friend take home such accolades from such an event, I'm speechless. Seeing this car grab the Eldon Titus Memorial Design Award is just amazing... It holds an incredible amount of meaning for us all, as he was an innovator, a gifted designer and builder, and truly a man who led the custom car back to the forefront. Growing up, he was one of my favorite builders, mixing and matching styles to create mind-blowing rides... and having a hand in a car which received the award bearing his name and legacy... well that my friend, is absolutely priceless!

Thanks for looking in, and more soon...

Hiring a Hot Rod Designer

Over the last decade, we've seen explosive growth in the hot rod and custom car industry and hobby as a whole. This can be attributed to the popularity of television shows like Overhaulin', American Hot Rod and others, as well as Powerblock TV, the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Events, and of course, the access to great personalities like Chip Foose, Stacey David and others. This brings in new enthusiasts, and naturally, more project cars!

Not since George Barris snapped thousands of photos and wrote hundreds of articles promoting the hobby back in the 1950's and '60's have we seen so much attention on our hobby, and it's amazing to witness. Yet, while there's all of the excitement, many of these new fans and participants are feeling lost when starting a project. It can be a daunting task to say the least, but when taking those first steps, having the right footing can make all of the difference in the world.

Naturally, any success in a project requires a plan, and building or modifying a car requires very careful thought at this stage. I've often heard guys say "I just build as I go... no plan, just what feels right", and sadly, it certainly doesn't look like it must feel in many cases. Disjointed design, half-assed "fixes" to make parts fit, and often unsafe "engineering" ("engine-beering", most likely) have sent many a project to an early grave. Thus, the best advice would be to bring on an experienced designer to help guide you along. As a professional hot rod and custom car designer with over twenty years experience in the auto industry (from parts and service to body and after-market accessories), as well as training in design and fine art, I'm here to offer some advice on taking those first steps.




Five things to consider when hiring a designer:

Unless you have a background in design, you'll want to seek out a designer to help you refine your vision. The importance of having a vision on paper, especially when working with shops and others on a team cannot be overlooked. You'll have a vision of the finished product for everyone to work from, and it helps to avoid gaps in communication, and errors in describing what you want to accomplish.

When shopping for a designer, keep some things in mind:


1. Look for one with a style you like.

Not only are you hiring someone to assist in laying the groundwork for your project, but this person must be able to convey your ideas and tastes, as well as create a piece that will inspire your build team. You'll want some "wow" factor, but also be sure that your designer draws with proper scale and proportion! Taking a cartoon or shoddy "Photochop" to an experienced builder will get you laughed out of the shop. Sure, the kid you hire in a forum can make that '58 Edsel bumper look like it fits your Monza, but in reality, would it? (and are you looking to blow your budget on wild changes before the car even hits primer?) Look around, and study the artist's styles and prior work.
Much like you chose a car that excited you, be it for nostalgia reasons, a certain feeling it gives you, or just the fact that you liked it overall, you'll be miles ahead by selecting a designer in the same way. When the car is torn apart and looking bleak, the artwork will serve as an excitement generator.




2. Find a designer you get along with.

Spend some phone and email time conversing with designers. See if you get along, and can communicate freely. An open exchange with your designer will pay off in a HUGE way when working. Look for someone who can help guide, if asked, but also take an idea you have and run with it. Nothing can be more disappointing than getting going with a guy who doesn't listen, or is looking to create a portfolio piece on your dime. On the flip side, simply hiring a "wrist" to make some lines based only on what you say is boring, and will; leave your design "flat". On the same note, just hiring an "artist" who rehashes the same 3D model their last 40 customers got, but with different paint and wheels will get you, well, the same car as those other 40 guys.
Make your budget known, and make sure that your designer understands that.
Make it an open exchange where ideas can flow freely, and you'll be pleasantly surprised how an idea can grow or be refined to mind-blowingly cool in the right hands.

3. Understand the designer's terms.

Get it ironed out immediately when speaking, just how many revisions you'll receive, and what the cost may be above that level. Know how the work will be delivered. Hard copies? (one for you, the shop, and maybe for promotional purposes?) Digital copies for magazine ink? (how about sponsorship proposals?) Can you use the artwork to promote the car? Who owns the Copyright?

A professional designer will furnish a contract spelling this out, allowing for worry-free design time. Check this out from step one, and you'll avoid starting over when your forum buddy disappears with your PayPal payment.

Understand, too, that work will often depend on payment. If you want your designs quickly and well-done, be prepared to pay a bit more, and respect the time required to perfect a design. Much as you wouldn't rush a surgeon reconstructing your body, giving the same consideration to your designer will breed equally functional results!

4. Don't be the "I'll know what I want when I see it" guy.

That guy is the enemy of designers, and it translates to "headache" to any pro. Have an idea at the first consultation, even if it's vague, and ask for direction/advice if needed. Know what you'd like to do with the car. Will it be restored? Modified? A combination of the two? Something wilder? A professional designer will offer examples, and throw ideas around with you, hitting on your likes and dislikes before pencil hits paper. Many great cars develop during these "bench racing" sessions, and you'll save a ton on revisions. Communication is your best friend here. Simply jumping from style to style will burn you and your designer out, and close doors on really creative ideas.
Research the hell out of your project and ideas. Go to shows, cruise nights, rod runs... Pick up magazines, books, videos... Look around at what's been done, and find a style that you like. Make a list of things that you enjoy about cars. Perhaps you enjoy good handling, or maybe straight line performance is more your thing. Maybe it's all about the look of the car, and you're after a show car that'll make people stop and drool. It's this stage that will help determine a direction for the project, and is of HUGE importance.







You should have a list of your dreams for the car, and one alongside that is more realistic, taking into consideration the reality of the car you've chosen. Approaching a professional designer with these will save time, frustration, and above all, help to nail that "perfect" concept.

5. Don't fall victim to trends.

Simply shopping at the "popular kids" table will, inevitably, breed you a cookie-cutter car. Simply saying "oh man, that car that won Street Machine of the Year had a cool hood, so I want THAT hood, and the same wheels, and the same paint, and then that car that won the year before had those seats... I want THAT interior..." and so-on will not design or build YOUR dream car. Much as you may have enjoyed looking at that model in a magazine ad, would you marry her? Chances are, you'd rather find someone who fits your life, who matched that often undefinable set of criteria that just "does" something for you.

This project car should be no different.

Seek out a designer who understands the style you're planning to build your car in, and can offer unique approaches to design problems that not only make your eyes pop out, but will keep a few bucks from doing likewise from your wallet.


If you've seen a teal green and gray car with a tweed interior and 15-inch billet wheels lately and thought "wow... the 1990's called, and they want their car back", imagine what response a car built in a trendy style today will elicit in ten or fifteen years. "Build to YOUR taste, not someone elses'" is my credo in the studio. Approach modifications tastefully, respectfully, and with the thinking "how does this change affect the rest of the car? What purpose does it serve?" If it makes sense, do it. If it's questionable, question the hell out of it.

That said, head on out and explore... look at work, compare styles, and talk with designers. Your decision should go beyond price, and be the RIGHT fit for your project. Seek out a designer that can listen, offer ideas, and above all, nail your design. After all, simply setting sail on the ocean might take you SOMEPLACE, but is it where you WANTED to go? Hiring a designer will help chart that course, and the end of the journey, when plotted correctly, will have you itching to hoist the sails again, and that's what this whole car thing is all about anyway... feeding that passion.

Red and random...

Got to playing with a series of works lately, all based on a monochrome theme, and thought I'd show one off for a Friday morning:


Suffice to say, it's a rather colorful series, with an interesting mix of contrasting and complementing cars and styles, each coupled with a color chosen in the same way... Hope you dig it.