August Car Art

The weather is starting to cool down from the hot summer, and the smell of unregulated hydrocarbons is filling the air! August was a good month for us, but I had to tone it down a little bit in light of some day job effort that was necessary. Here’s a recap of our August car art escapades.

I started off this month with this extra large ’66 Shelby Mustang framed in 14×18. Last month, at the Mainstreet Memories show, I sold my 14×18 ’69 Mustang drawing and needed something to backfill that size for shows. This one is a little cartoony but I think it’s got a really cool muscular squat.

Early in the month, we attended the Good Times in Goodrich show – this was the second year for us doing this show. Between customers, I sketched a few little hot rod doodles on tan cardstock. A very nice lady saw it and asked if I could sketch their beautiful ’56 Chevy for her husband.

I’ve been kind of avoiding live sketching at shows but it seems to be finding me…I think it turned out pretty good!

At the Goodrich show, I sold my only original first-generation Camaro. I had to backfill it and decided to go a little earlier in year. Usually the go-to is the ’69 model year, but this time I decided to with a ’68 and gave it the door slammer drag car treatment.

I’ve also had a lot of requests for Mustangs lately. I’m traditionally and first a Mustang guy, so there’s no excuse to not have plenty. One of the coolest Shelby cars – many people don’t think of these as Shelbys – are the 1967 Terlingua Racing Team Trans Am cars. Here’s #17, driven by Jerry Titus.

The 1968 Cobra Jet has always been one to blow my skirt up. This perspective is one of my favorite orientations to draw – it’s a traditional side view but tilted just slightly toward the front to give it some 3D feel.

Bikes have been popular this summer, too. I sold a bike drawing recently and needed one to backfill my display, so here’s an old school chopper with a little racing flavor. The thick black outline gives a bit of a fun lowbrow art feel.

I was really grateful to have the opportunity to work on this 1983 Mustang GT commission piece. I have a thing for four-eye fox body Mustangs – I’ve owned two 1986s. I really love the stance of this car, especially sitting on the Weld Prostar wheels.

Another fun commission piece was this beautiful 1963 Dodge Polara prostreet car. I’m also a Mopar guy, and drawing this car was a ton of fun! I love the stance with the fat rear tires and Cragar SS wheels. The intricacies of the ornate chrome grille were a bit of a challenge but I was really proud of how it came out!

Finally, we set up at Flint’s Back to the Bricks for the first time. Back to the Bricks is one of the biggest auto events in Michigan, and it was a huge pleasure to be a part of it this year!

Similar to the Goodrich show, I found a sweet split bumper Camaro to sketch live at the show.

I think the owners were happy – they framed it when they got home and sent me this picture!

Finally, just this past weekend we visited the Royal Oak Historical Society Museum to check out some original automotive concept art.

This is the stuff of inspiration to me, so to see live original art from the 1960s and 1970s is a real treat.

I’m super grateful to everyone who trusted me with their birthday and Christmas gifts this year, and to those who entrusted me to honor their own cars in ink.

August car art was good, and I think September will be great, too! Next stop: Frankenmuth Auto Fest!