Garage Sale!

If you're a fan or friend of ours on Facebook, then you've probably seen what we've been doing with the page, and how it's starting to take on a life of its own. Between the blogs, sneak peeks and more, we're stoked about the new features, and are adding more all of the time!

One popular feature has been the Garage Sale (you'll need to be a fan to view it)... We've been offering one-off's, originals and protoypes, and have much more on the way. Some has reached actual bidding war, while other items have gone for literally pennies on the dollar.

We have two new items up for grabs this weekend, with an anaglyph (a 3D image) that hung in the Hot Rod Art Book: Masters of Chicken Scratch show at GINAC Gallery last year... It is framed, includes killer Wayfarer-style glasses, and is signed. A true one-off collectible indeed.

We recently packed and shipped off this original:

...which was a detailed, mixed media Tour de Force, and the new owner is stoked.

Get in on the deals, and grab some great stuff as we make room in the Studio for new projects and capabilities! Hope to see you there, and thanks!

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!

Mystery Print Packs

If you're a long-time visitor to my website, or just know us, then you already know how we enjoy the hell out of saving our clients and friends some cash... simply because we love saving some ourselves! From time to time (usually a few times per month), we'll hide a deal someplace on the site... it might be a freet shirt, a sticker, something from one of our pals in the industry, a break on design work and costs... or even a coupon for the online store!

The new "Mystery Print Packs":

How cool is this: 8x10-inch prints normally sell on the site for $12.00/ea. I've decided that a fun way to get more bang for the buck (and handle some Holiday shopping, too!) would be to offer some "package" deals.

Amplifying the "fun" part works like this: You buy a "Mystery Print Pack" for $30, and you get two random 8x10 prints, PLUS a special 8x10-inch print (one not normally offered as an 8x10), AND.... how about this: Every fifth pack sold gets a signed, 19x13-inch print (it'll be a cool one) thrown in! There you have it....

You get a print for 1/2 off PLUS a shot at a limited-edition, signed print (could be a $50. bonus!)... make that a one-in-five shot!

Check it out here!

Hot rod art

…and prints that really “pop”.

Traditional Lakes Roadster artwork

As we were packing up some prints to ship out the other day, a friend stopped by and began to rave about the color and quality of these pieces. Naturally, I was stoked to hear this, and realized that I’d never really given much thought to it. After all, I see them from loose pencil roughs on paper, right though completion in digital, and all of the post-print work that goes into them, and simply want to deliver a piece that looks good. To me, each piece just has to look “right”. My pal then gave me an idea: Show some of these pieces as they look on paper, complete… ready to ship. So, I snapped a few pics of some pieces, and wanted to share a few examples with you, just to show what kind of quality you’ll receive when ordering one of our prints:

1955 Chevy rendering

Our renderings for example, are delivered on superior quality, acid-free archival paper, and the work itself is created using an 8-color pigment process (UltraChrome K3 by Epson), and all post-print work (airbrush, etc) is created using Createx and House of Kolor products for the truest color matches and best ‘flakes and pearls where needed. I’ve never really promoted these facts, as I assumed that all renderings and prints were created equal, but after receiving a ton of positive feedback, I thought I’d share it here, and hopefully swing anyone thinking about grabbing a print over to the “yeah, I’ll take one” camp!

Just for kicks, here’s an example of the detail I like to throw in, these shots coming from a ‘55 Chevy resto-mod rendering:

1955 Chevy interior drawing

…and yes, you can even read the lettering on all gauges:

1955 Chevy dashboard rendering

That all shown, we’re pretty proud of the finished product, and hope that you will be, too! Even the experimental works have been turning out with a great look:

Automotive fine art

I hope that you like what you see, and that all of the techno-jargon makes sense. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up, and I’ll get you an answer! Thanks for looking in, and thanks to all who have been collecting my work! Look for more new pieces soon!

…and feel free to browse or grab some hot rod art here!