Automotive Art Review

The Hot Rod Art Book

2009-08-13T09:34:00.001-07:00

The current state of hot rod art is good, and Dwayne Vance gives a fine view of it in his book. The Hot Rod Art book: Masters of chicken scratch showcases Dwayne's work along with that of a dozen other current hot rod artists.

The author starts right off by showing how he combines traditional methods of pencil and paper sketching with digital graphics programs. He shows you enough of his method to make you want to see more, and that's just what you get on the CD that is included with the book. You can watch along on the CD as he draws and explains exactly what he's doing and why.

The second half of the book is generously given over to the works of other hot rod artists, and nothing is held back in the presentation. A short bio is given for each artist and the book is filled with awesome works of art.

I recommend this book to aspiring artists wanting to learn some foundational basics, but established artists can also gain a lot from it. Dwayne's writing is worth reading, and then reading again to let his design philosophies sink in. Then study the artwork of all thirteen artists, because you can pick up something of value from anyone. The more you study various styles by different artists, the easier it becomes to develop your own style. I'm sure these artists all study each others work, and this book gives you the same opportunity. Art collectors will also be interested in this book to get a good cross sampling of current hot rod art.

The author could have made a book of his work alone, but I give him kudos for including twelve other artists. Everyone benefits from that.

Worth a look - some of the author's links:
Hot Rod Art book
Dwayne Vance's website
Dwayne's blog

The Hot Rod Art book: Masters of chicken scratch is published by FutureElements Inc.

AFAS: A Celebration of Automotive Art

2009-05-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful book showcasing works of artists in the Automotive Fine Arts Society. That said, plus the title of the book and the cover art shown above should say it all, but I'll go on.

I couldn't do better than the description on the inside cover, so here is a portion of it:

Celebrating 20 years of the AFAS art exhibition at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance called for a commemoration that captures the exclusivity and magnificence of AFAS art. In size and scope, AFAS: A Celebration of Automotive Art offers a taste of the ambitious endeavors on which the society is founded, with a worldwide appeal to connoisseurs of both art and the automobile. In color and presentation, the paintings and sculptors surround their creators, enhancing each artist's story and philosophy.

Dozens of interviews, more than 250 photographs and eight months of graphic design culminated in AFAS: A Celebration of Automotive Art. Corroboration between 29 active artists and the staff of Automobile Quarterly set a high-water mark for publishing meticulousness and quality.

Any collection of automotive art books is incomplete without this amazing volume. The art work in it is presented in the fine way you would expect from the publisher, Automobile Quarterly. A short bio profile and a portrait of each of the 34 fine artists is included with a sample of their work in the beginning of the book. After that there are more extensive portfolios and write ups for each artist.

AFAS: A Celebration of Automotive Art, by Gerry Durnell, Automobile Quarterly Publications.

Crazy Cars and Mad Monsters

2009-04-17T13:28:00.001-07:00

How to Draw Crazy Cars & Mad Monsters Like a Pro, by Thom Taylor & Ed "Newt" Newton, is published by Motorbooks. This book starts off as a killer trip back to the early '60s where this type of art started out on airbrushed t-shirts. Similar to Thom Taylor's two previous books for drawing cars and choppers, it goes from basic material and techniques to the use of computers. Along the way you'll get to visit the works and personalities of past and present artists. The names are familiar - Thom Taylor and Ed Newton, of course, plus Dave Deal, John Bell, Keith Weesner, Darrall Mayabb, C. Cruz, Ed Roth, and more.

Some of these drawings went on to be popular model cars, show cars, magazine features, and toys. I can remember the airbrush artists painting wild scenes on t-shirts at the car shows and at the beaches around where I lived in southern California. The shirts, models, and other monster toys we collected are long gone. I don't know where mine went, but I can imagine parents throwing them away and hoping their kids would grow up and find better things to spend their time and money on. The book mentions original art designs from Roth Studios selling for $25,000 at auction.

Some of the kids of those days did grow up, and are artists now, creating awesome new work and designing show cars and hot rods. The t-shirt industry also grew up, and now everything gets printed on t-shirts - you name it, there's a shirt for it. And it isn't just car crazy kids buying the shirts now, although car art on shirts seems to be going through a revival.

A fun book, even if you don't really want to learn to draw.

David G Photography

2009-03-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

David G Photography

David Gaudin is a photographer from Sandy, Oregon who does a great job on car photo collages and show signs. I see his booth at various car shows and events around Portland, but he also gets out to events in California, Nevada, and Washington.

For a very reasonable fee he will come out to take pictures of your car. It doesn't even have to be in show-shine condition. He then works the pictures of your car and a number of its features into a composite photo, prints it out, and presents you with a fine piece of photographic art featuring your car. From that he can also put together a show sign that includes the info you provide - specs on the car and such. These look very professional when you display your car, even without any other display props.

3 points I want to make about David's work:

First, I decided to include it on Automotive Art Review because these are the best composite works of privately owned cars I have seen. As I told David several years ago when I met him, his work really looks better in person than what you can judge seeing it on the web. I know there are photographers who do studio work and come up with very fine art, but most of us can't afford them. For example, Winston Goodfellow advertises some of his prints for $2,500 to $5,000 on his website. Do you suppose he sells any? I'll bet he does, because he's known worldwide for his many finely composed camera works and automotive writings. But most of us can't afford that kind of price. And studio time will set you back a lot more. David's prints are affordable, they depict various features of your own car, and they are artfully done. It doesn't even take much time out of your day for him to take the pictures. For the Shelby and Cobra enthusiasts and collectors, he also has a set of prints licensed by Shelby. Also, a metal sign manufacturer has used a few of his images to make nostalgic looking metal signs that are sold across the United States and beyond.

My second point is that you can't afford not to have a print of your car to hang on the wall. I have memories of some great cars I used to own, but no pictures to look over. Others I have pictures of, but they are just snapshots. One of my prize possessions is a drawing of a 1968 AMX that my wife ordered for me when I started my AMX project. The car is gone now, but the drawing is for keeps. Wish I had one of each project I ever did.

That brings me to my third point - These are a terrific gift idea. My wife will always be glad she ordered that drawing of my AMX because, out of all the gifts she's given me, that's the one I remember.

You can get more info or get in touch with David through his website: davidgphotography.com.

Perspective Projection by Descriptive Geometry

2009-02-20T16:10:00.000-08:00

Perspective Projection by Descriptive Geometry - A Manual for the Artist is a mouthful of a title, and it may take a little reading for right-brain artists to get what it's about. Bear with me, and I'll do my best to explain it. The author, Wade Meyers, is a signature member of the American Society of Aviation Artists, and has done a great service to artists by putting this manual together.

First, I know this is "Automotive Art Review", so I have to explain why I am reviewing a book with aviation art on the cover. Quite simply, there are a lot of automotive artists selling their work who really need to study this method, and there isn't a book that I know of that teaches it specifically to automotive artists. At any rate, the idea is not at all new, nor is it just for aviation art. In fact, it is used by other artists for such subjects as landscape and still life.

Give a critical eye to automotive art you may see on the internet or at car shows. The ones that I see that most point out the problem this book addresses are typically prints of numerous muscle cars parked around a vintage diner or gas station. Works with single cars in them also suffer, but the effect is pronounced by having multiple cars sitting around at different angles. It looks as if photos of cars were taken from different vantage points, through camera lenses of differing aspects, and pasted into one scene. They just don't match up. Sometimes the Corvette ends up being larger than the Cadillac in front of it, or if perspective lines were drawn over the print you would have cars in full view which should be half buried in the ground. Now part of the problem comes from working from photographs, as all camera lenses distort perspective. But mostly it's a matter of not putting the scene together correctly as a whole before putting the brush to paint.

So why do automotive artists need a book that teaches how to paint aircraft in the sky?

Have you ever looked at a painting or even a print by a fine aviation artist and thought "How does he do that?" How does he make it look so real you feel you have somehow walked into the scene and time stands still as your surroundings fade away? That is what you want people to feel when they look at your work, and this book tells you how to get there. As I said before, it could be difficult for the right-brainer to get it, but I read it through once and it's as if a light came on. Now I know how they do it. No doubt there are artists who instinctively paint cars and they come out looking perfect, and there are a lot of fine automotive artists out there. I hope to review some of their works here someday. But I'm definitely not in that league, and this book shows me one of the reasons why.

Perspective projection by descriptive geometry is the way to make a scene look right, rather than pasted together. If you are an artist striving to do better, this manual is a bargain. Although understanding the philosophy may give your artwork a bit of a boost right off, you will need to practice what is outlined in this manual and work at it to master it. In other words, the manual doesn't cost much, but you'll have to invest some time and work at it to get your work to a higher level. If you aren't one of those gifted instinctual artists, you'll flounder for years without instruction like this.

I hope this title remains available, though I don't see it on Wade's website. You might contact him there to find out. Mine is top-shelf, which means it sits on the shelf with my most treasured books.

Wade also has a wonderful blog, where you can follow along on his latest works. It is here: Wade Meyers Blog. Well worth the look.

A side note as long as we're comparing aviation art to automotive art. Any automotive artist would do well to study the works of the fine aviation artists, such as those in the American Society of Aviation Artists or The Guild of Aviation Artists in the UK. Aircraft have a lot in common with cars, such as reflective metalwork and paint, compound curves, and of course the whole mechanical spirit. They really go together, and techniques cross over well.

Update: This manual is available at the author's ebay store, Wade Meyers Studios, where you can also find prints of his fine aviation paintings and some aviation books and DVDs.

The Classic Car Paintings of Alan Fearnley

2009-01-30T15:12:00.001-08:00

This is a wonderful book. Published in 2001 by David Porteous - Howell Press. It starts off with a substantial forward in which Alan Fearnley gets you up to speed on some history and his place in the art world. The rest of the book is devoted to individual paintings filling one page, with Mr. Fearnley's explanation of the painting and a pencil sketch on the facing page.

I took it in one page per day over a couple of months, studying each painting and giving thought to the words describing it. Words about mood, color, settings, history, atmosphere, and many more to describe the breadth of the piece. Though not necessary to appreciate the artwork, the text adds to it in a way that makes you understand just a bit of what went into the work that gives it the quality that makes the painting grab you as soon as you see it.

Although I have some favorites from the paintings in this book (Tea in the Garden p.66, Sunday Morning p.96), I can say there aren't any that I dislike or wasn't able to spend considerable time studying. The subject matter covers many years and many different settings.

With this book, the author does a geat service to automotive art students and collectors alike. I believe it is still available. My copy will stay with me until some lucky grandchild inherits it.

How to Photograph Cars

2009-01-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

How to Photograph Cars, by James Mann, is as complete a reference as you will find for learning the tricks for photographing cars. My impression is that nothing is held back by this author. First published in 2002 by MBI Publishing Company, it is still up to date seven years later.

The back cover blurb touts it as a "useful introduction to car photography", but that is understating it. Any photographer wanting to photograph cars should read this book all the way through. While the first two chapters do a good job on basic camera equipment and techniques, the remainder of the book goes into depth on just about every situation you could run into while photographing cars.

The high caliber of James Mann's photo talent is beyond dispute, and a lot can be learned just by studying the great photography in this book. But beyond that, he proves himself to be an excellent writer and instructor. It's pleasant to read, the photos go along with the instructions, and if you study this book you will 'get' automotive photography.

If you've ever seen a car photo and wondered how it was done, you can probably find the answer here. You will also get a good idea of how many different ways there are to shoot cars.

HOT ROD-The Photography of Peter Vincent

2007-01-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

You've seen Peter Vincent's work if you've read magazines such as Rod & Custom, Hop Up, Street Rodder, American Rodder, and the fine Rodder's Journal. Or you may have seen it featured in gallery exhibitions, as there have been many. If the pastime of hot rodding were to ever fade away, Mr. Vincent's substantial body of work would remain to document what once was a form of art itself, along with the craftsmanship, philosophies, and culture of hot rodding.

You could call this a coffee table book, but it is much more. Coffee table books are too often set out for display and never studied as this one should be. Hefty at 256 pages with hundreds of photos in color and black and white, it is most definitely not short on reading material. It would be a shame for this book to just be a coffee table decoration and not get read. Having read it and spent time with the photos, you will have an idea of what makes this book a collection of art.

About those black and white photos. For whatever reason, some publishers in the past have used black and white where color would have been a better representation of the artist's work. That isn't the case here, as the monochromes are that way because that's what the artist intended. If you take the time to study them you'll see the art of black and white. Cars just tend to be so colorful that most people think they should be shot in color. With the advent of digital photography everybody thought black and white was dead, but fortunately the opposite is true and there has been a resurgence of fine art photography in black and white, along with high interest in it from collectors and museums. Peter Vincent has been working both sides for a long time, and his works are as fine as they are artistic, whether in black and white or color.

The photos on the salt lakes, of which there are many, are masterful. Peter Vincent knows what to do with lighting, and what he does with the atmosphere around the cars is stunning. Any painter or photographer would do well to study his works just for that.

For a study of hot rod art photography, or hot rodding history and culture, or dare I say just a great coffee table book, you can't go wrong with HOT ROD - The Photography of Peter Vincent. Published in 2004 by Motorbooks International.

The Motorsport Art of Juan Carlos Ferrigno

2007-01-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Motorsport Art of Juan Carlos Ferrigno is a fine study of the life and works of Argentinian artist Juan Carlos Ferrigno. The book takes you from his boyhood through the road he took to become a master artist.

The art he produces, which is represented plentifully and in color on almost every page, is forceful. He is able to depict speed, motion, and even the drama of motorsports in his paintings, while retaining historical and compositional accuracy. Complete details are given not only of his technique, but also the thinking behind each composition.

The book is also a great resource for motorsport history, especially Grand Prix and Formula One, and especially the glory years of those venues. Abundant detail is given with each painting. Included is much information on drivers, cars, teams, tracks, and towns. It is apparent that Juan Carlos Ferrigno doesn't just take pictures at the races so he could make paintings - he actually lives in the middle of the sport. If you get nothing else out of his paintings (impossible!), you will at least understand what he puts into them - a great passion for motorsports.

Highly recommended for the fan of motorsport art, it's a great addition to fine art libraries. It's a treasure trove of trivia for those who want to go deeper than just looking at the prints, as the writing itself is artful and just serves to make the artwork more enjoyable. The included histories of particular races, personalities, cars, and tracks is great to read, particularly for fans who are old enough to have lived during the best days of Formula One and Grand Prix racing.

For the art student wanting to learn something of auto racing art, it's priceless. My copy is getting well worn from repeated reading. Ferrigno doesn't hold back in giving complete details of technique and composition. There are five galleries in the book and each of them could stand alone as a good book to study. Gallery Four is titled Secrets of the Artist, yet the other four galleries are no less valuable to the aspiring artist. Study the whole book, study the paintings, then go back and study it all over again. It won't make you a great artist, but you will understand what makes this artist great. Distilled down to a single word - passion. In fact, were it up to me to choose the title to this book, it would be Juan Carlos Ferrigno, the Passion of the Artist.