What is your story Ondřej?

I was born in 1991 in the Czech Republic and live in Brno. I will tell you all the important bits later :).

What are your earliest memories of cars?

My first memory of cars is travelling in our Skoda 120. It smelled to petrol, Marlboros and vanilla fresheners and we were listening to Jethro Tull from a cassette recorder.  I really like recalling this.

Do you come from an artistic family?

I inherited my love for cars and motorcycles from my father and my talent from my mother. But neither of them made art for a living.

Where did you study art and can you give some specifics?

As a kid I was attending an elementary art school, mainly painting and ceramic lessons. Later, I chose an art school in Ostrava as my high school. I studied Industrial design program. I guess I wasn’t too bad because I won a scholarship to universities in Torino and Detroit, thanks to my work. Unfortunately, I didn’t have resources to study abroad, so I started to study at Technical University in Ostrava. It’s funny because at Czech art universities I was labelled as a person who was too practical and without a futuristic imagination.

Car Art by Ondřej Balak

Did your studies involve car art?

I always wanted to do car design or motorcycles, but I realized that in our bonded and unified world it wasn’t possible for me.

What kind of jobs did you have or have you always been an artist?

In Ostrava, I was working as a construction designer on electromobiles in a Research and Development Department. Today I would love to be an artist and do it for a living but I am not so famous yet. So unfortunately, I have to do a “normal” job. Last time I was trying to be a graphic designer, but I hate sitting the whole day in front of a computer and do stereo-typed work.

How did you become an artist and why cars?

I’ve been painting and sketching since my childhood. But classic painting wasn’t tempting for me. A few years ago I tried to change designer’s markers to brushes and paints and after several horrible experiments, it caught me.  My father used to take me with him to car racings. He knew a lot of famous drivers from CSR personally, so I think that was the first big influence.

Do you only paint cars or also other topics?

I don’t paint only cars but I like cars the most. If someone wants a custom painting, I enjoy that too, no matter what the topic is. Except painting people. I hate painting people.

Do you have a certain theme in your work and which techniques do you use?

My main theme is the Masaryk Circuit in Brno and its’ history. But if I see something interesting, I just need to paint it. I don’t use any special techniques, I like to paint by acrylics, dyes on canvas and aniline dyes on paper.

What inspires you to start a specific artwork?

I don’t have only one line of inspiration. I try to combine different components in order to create something special for a specific artwork.

Ondřej Balak's Automotives

How do you start with an artwork?

I find an old photo which catches my attention. Usually I search on the Internet, in books or I get them from contemporary witnesses. I also need to find out the theme colours and other important details. Then I start painting. Mainly I try to picture some curiosities – for example like in one of my paintings – Drion and Stohl – they were captured during their last race in Brno, where both of them died.

How do you feed your inspiration and what is your creation process?

Sex, drugs and rock n‘ roll!!!  It pretty much depends on the specific artwork. Sometimes I feel almost angry about it and spend a lot of time finding the best compositions, colours and style. Then other times it goes well and I just enjoy the process.

What do you want to express with your artwork?

I am trying to capture the moment, the era. As I said before, my main topic is the old Masaryk circuit in Brno (from 1930 to 1986), which has been all but forgotten. I didn’t experience it’s time of glory but its spirit deeply charmed me.

What does your studio looks like?

I am just a poor young artist, so my studio is my kitchen. But my big dream is to renovate the old mill in the country, which belongs to my family, and create my own studio there.

What are you most proud of and what is your best artwork so far?

I am most proud of being successfully accepted by Czech automotive artists. In my opinion, my best artwork is the painting of Hans von Stuck in Auto Union type D. It’s one of my first paintings. At that time I was not using canvas, but fiberboards. But I still like it.

Which artists inspire you and how do you practice and improve your skills?

Not someone in particular. I am inspired by so many artists, I can’t name them individually. Quick sketches by hand and little aniline paintings.

How do you develop your style?

That’s such a secret, even I don’t know

Do you prefer any specific materials or tools?

Nothing special, I prefer canvas or handmade paper.

Ondřej Balak's Automotives

Do you work alone and do you work in silence or with music?

Yes, I work alone, but I discuss my ideas with my friends. I listen to music while I work and love rock music and Celtic punk, but it all depends on what I paint. Then I can listen to Bach or Vivaldi.

What does a normal day in your life look like?

If I have a job, I wake up at 6:30 a.m. and go to work. So I can create after returning home in between cooking and my relationship duties.  So I don’t have too much time for painting. But if I don’t have a job, I also wake up around 6:30 so that I can almost immediately start creating. If I need some inspiration, I take a ride around the Old Masaryk’s Circuit.

Do you have any preference, brand, make, year or style of car?

I don’t have any specific type or year. Unfortunately, my interest in cars ended about the year 2000. Modern cars are so boring! I just like the combination of the engine, wheel/handlebars and the driver. Modern improvements destroy the joy of driving. I used to have a Fiat Punto MK1, engine 1,0 l. Driving it, a man feels pleasure and fear simultaneously, even when the speed is 60 km/h.

Do you own such a car yourself?

I don’t own my dream car (which would be sooo many). But I have a motorbike, ČZ 125 from 1948.

Have you had any expositions and is your art on display in a museum or elsewhere?

Last year I exhibited my work at a Classic Show in Brno and this year I would like to present myself on some veteran events. The main place where I present my work is currently Facebook. I also have websites but I don’t maintain them.

Do you have contact with other artists or Automotive artists?

Yes, my friends are Tom Havlasek, Daniel Šenkeřík and Jan Sachr. All of them create art much longer than me. They are my inspirators and and also my critics.

Car Art by Ondřej Balak

Are you a member of an artistic group?

No, but I was thinking about creating one. But I am afraid we would spend much more time talking and drinking, than painting.

What is your dream for the future?

To do art for a living.

What is your advice for people who want to become an Automotive Artist?

It’s a long and difficult path. If you want to do for example Abstract Art, the only thing you have to do is tell the story about a blue circle on a blue background. If it’s interesting, no one wonders if you actually can paint. In Automotive Art, a man has to be a designer, a constructor, a sculptor, a photographer and insane all together. But it’s important not to slack but to find your way. And practice, practice, practice.

Any advice for people who want to buy automotive art or start a car art collection?

Buy my art!:) I am just kidding. There are so many young automotive artists, so one can choose among them and find exactly what they like.

How and where can people buy your art?

Currently the only way to buy something is by contacting me or write me a message on my Facebook page or send me an e-mail.

Do you have any upcoming exhibitions, awards of new artwork related to automotive art activities?

I know that I will have a small exhibition in the depo at the Veteran memorial racing in Brno Soběšice in 24. 9. 2016. But this is the only event I am sure about at the moment.

To see more of Ondrej's work, please visit his website.

The post Ondřej Balak's Automotives in Masaryk Circuit appeared first on CarArtSpot.

Stanley Wanlass Automotive Artist & Sculptor

What is your story Stanley, how did you become an artist?

I’m just an ordinary guy who happens to seek beauty; no matter where it is found.  I’m also constantly searching for truth; but that’s much harder to discern.  I suppose that I’m a hopeless idealist & a romantic.  My goal is to aesthetically improve what I can and share my subjective vision of beauty.  I’ve always been an artist. When I was studying at the University in the late fifties and early sixties, it was almost impossible to make a living as an artist.  Mark Rothko was probably one of the first artists to sell enough art not to starve in N.Y. in the early fifties.  So to be practical, and in order to make a living, I went into my second interest which was medicine.  It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I finally came to the realization that my real love was the art and I didn’t care if I starved, I was going to follow my BLISS & my dreams as an artist. However, my sculpting & painting were immeasurably improved by my medical studies and made me a better artist and a broader human being.  Also, to this day, I am creatively inspired (everyday) by my studies of Literature and Music.

Sculpture by Stanley Wanlass

Spirit of Excellence by Stanley Wanlass

I had come to the conclusion that for me.  There is but one God - and his revealer is Art

Do you come from an artistic family?

Not really, with the exception of my Grandfather whom was an easel painter. My Mother was very artistic; but not in a conventional way. Indirectly my childhood naturally lead me toward artistic endeavors.  During the 40‘s & 50‘s I loved working with my Dad helping with the assessment work at his mines located all around the west desert, the Henry mountains, the San Rafael Swell and the Thomas range.  I was just a kid but my Dad put me in charge of the powder & blasting caps after they were flown to our sites in an old “Jenny” bi-wing which bounced over the sagebrush landing strip we had crudely made.  The pilot’s name was “Old Blue”.  His full name (I think) was Blue Archer.  I did a painting of him and his plane near our sagebrush campfire.  I still have that painting to this day.  it’s very dear to me and I can’t bare to sell it although I have had many try to buy; while I do offer it as a Giclee’.

Old Blue by Stanley Wanlass

While combing the deserts I ran across numerous old cars that were all rusted out and unusable.  One thing that fascinated me with these old wrecks was that they had this beautiful cloisonné emblem on the front of the radiator.  I started to collect and catalog them wondering how many different ones that I could find and indeed, how many varied car companies there had been in America up to that time.  Years later, when I was working on my Masters Degree, the emblems became a large part of my 500 page thesis on automotive design.  Most experts at that time estimated that there were maybe 3000 to 5000 different individual car companies producing cars from 1900 to 1930 in America.  My research revealed more than 12,000 during those years.  My thesis has since been published by Dover Publications, New York. One of my Dad’s mining claims was near the Bonneville Salt Flats.  I remember the very early hot rods during this period of time which I’m sure helped develop my love for racing from then until now.  And, I was always sculpting and or painting automobile subjects during these years which lead to building real hot rods during the 50’s at my Father’s service station.

What sort of jobs did you have before coming an artist?

I taught at the University of Grenoble and the European Art Academy in France in 1966 and again in 1969 & 1970.  I also taught for six years at Brigham Young University, then another ten or fifteen years at Colleges and Universities in Canada and Oregon.  I was sculpting and painting full time even while I was teaching but when I decided to quit, it really left me much more time to create.

Art around the corner by Stanley Wanlass

Cars are a recurring topic in your art, why is that?

My love for the Automobile and history have been paramount in my life and led to my passion for creating Historical Monuments and Automotive sculpture/paintings. I’ve always loved cars.  I have built them and collected them all of my life. They are kinetic and to me they symbolize the ultimate expression of human FREEDOM.  The Automobile was the only really new significant art form of the 20th century.  For thousands of years’ man relied on the horse and wagon for transportation.  Then this contraption comes along and revolutionized the world.  This came about within my parent’s lifetime.  This was an epic milestone.  This and other significant automotive events should be celebrated as iconic in world history.

I have a world history chart on my wall that is 162 inches long.  It represents the history of the world from 4000 years BC to present.  The invention and history of the automobile is only the last 3 inches.  What an impact the automobile has made in such a short period of time.  My sculptures “SPIRIT OF MERCEDES” & “THE BENZ CENTENNIAL” are in celebration of this milestone.  Another of my sculptures, “PASSING OF THE HORSE” represents the exact moment when this epic demise of the horse (for transportation purposes) came to pass.  The Automobile, along with the computer are in my opinion, the two most significant things to have happened in the last century.

The Benz Centennial by Stanley Wanlass

Passing of the horse by Stanley Wanlass

Your art shows a “Joy de Vivre”, enjoying life. Is that a reflection of who you are?

I’m mostly optimistic and try to have a positive & loving outlook on life.  And yes, I like to hide little “pearls” or “treasures” of whimsy as well as poignant gems of wisdom in both my paintings and sculptures; only to be found by those who take the time to participate in the work.  Some are nothing more than little visual “gems”, others are more serious.  One example is a message in Latin that I hid in one of my Lewis & Clark Monuments, (“Clark’s Tree”) that expresses a question mankind has asked itself since the beginning of time.  There has been a series of articles concerning this hidden message in the Seattle Times.  So far, lots have searched but no one has discovered it.

Clarck's Tree

Every person born to this world has God given gifts of genius (in varying degrees, of course) that are unique and different than anyone before or after him/her.  None are the same... just as no two artists are equal in inspiration, technique, temperament or vision. 

Too many artists believe they have to compete with other artists not realizing that it is impossible to compare.  The truth is that each individual is so unique that they can only really be in competition with themselves. I prefer to start every creation with the end in mind.  As I’m working toward my goal of creating the art it always evolves into something far better than my initial idea.

I would suggest to any artist, don’t be afraid to start.  Then, don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  It’s all part of creating.  Mistakes are part of the process and propel you faster and with more clarity and excellence toward the end result than by not making any mistakes at all.

It’s fun and exciting to see the results of your vision become a reality.  It is very satisfying.  But even more exciting is knowing that magic will happen as you are in the act of creating.  You instinctively know that the process naturally evolves way beyond your initial vision... making the process a very satisfying and integral part of creating. Just as a writer must write about what he knows and loves; which is his passion; regardless of a scanty or critical audience, the artist must refuse to surrender the subject of his bliss in trade for the acceptance of the critics.  Without choice, there is no creativity.  Creation demands genuine diversity.  It implies unity but not uniformity.

I take license with facts if it will help the composition.  I change whatever I need to in order to establish a symbol.  Facts bore me.  I’m more interested in truth.  I feel comfortable stretching history and condensing time and space bringing together a dramatic depiction of the spirit of the subject...a symbol, a gestalt, a truth.  “Cold exactitude isn’t art, spirit and form are more important.  Content and meaning are also important, however, form (structure) is the first consideration.  Good design is the structure that supports the statement.  If the form and statement successfully interact a symbol is born.  It becomes more than the sum of its parts.

As I mentioned, an artist should be more interested in truth than fact, and not stunt intuition with reason.  Jean Jacques Rousseau, the noted 18th century philosopher said, “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

Is that also what you want to express with your artwork?

Yes, beauty as well as dignity & success through struggle.  Man against the odds, and indeed, man & machine against the odds.  Heroic and Epic deeds and the pursuit of excellence.

Fast Company by Stanley Wanlass

Another element seems to be your respect for the history of the United States, is this important for you?

I am very interested in the history of the United States but more importantly the history of the world.  For example, the art history of Asia is so vast that most knowledgeable art historians refer to Europe and the rest of the world as “The small peninsulas of Asia”. I love many artists, writers, musicians and philosophers from all over the world; the United States being only a small part of my studies and appreciation.  Some of my favorites are Michelle de Montaine, Shakespeare, Chopin, Beethoven, Peter Helck, Goethe, Walter Gotschke & Voltaire; not necessarily in that order.

The automobile, arguably had its birth in Germany and eventually came to America. Then, sports cars were developed in Italy, France & England and emanated to America.  However, Hot rods are a purely American phenomenon having their birth here in the United States and are now represented in every socialized country in the world.  I was lucky enough to be a part of this initial movement; having built numerous hot rods in the 1950‘s... and, still at it.  My “Wanlass Windshield” that I designed and built (for 1932 -1934 Ford Roadsters) had its beginnings during this time.  Now, it is also on hot rods in each of these countries.  The altered windshield isn’t just about form, it’s about function.  The chopped, laid-back windshield with a one inch radius cheats the wind.  The aero look moves more efficiently through the air.  This provides such advantages as better gas mileage, fewer bugs and less water & snow on the glass. Plus, the relative wind flows over the cockpit while racing burbles above the deck-lid instead of the cockpit, giving more traction to the rear drive wheels.  This change in the lift/drag coefficient prevents the car from spinning at high speeds.  Although I was very interested in efficiency and function, the real reason for designing and building this windshield was to make the car look downright nasty and mysterious, mean and enigmatic; giving the roadster a real attitude.

Wanlass windshield

'32 Ford Roadster

Stanley Wanlass Alfa Drive

Stan Wanlass '32 Ford Roadster

Which techniques do you use and are they unique?

The origin of bronze casting is shrouded in antiquity.  It is a 6,000 (plus) year old process called Cire Perdue which is (French) from the Latin (Cera Perduta) currently called investment casting, lost wax casting or ceramic shell casting.  Even though some modern materials and techniques are incorporated today, the lengthy process remains surprisingly similar and is very labor intensive. For my monuments, I begin with a relatively soft #2 clay that is sculpted over a stronger armature to ensure that it won’t collapse under its own weight (thousands of pounds).  It is easier to move a soft clay over a large area than a more viscus clay or wax that is stiff and almost unmovable.  For my smaller pieces I use a relatively hard (Victory Brown) microcrystalline wax (a petrochemical) that holds its configuration.  I simply heat it to the consistency of clay while working.  It turns hard again as it cools thus bypassing the need for an armature.

When I have completed my research and the labor of sculpting.......the sculpture (whether clay or wax) is then taken to the foundry where the molding and casting process takes place. After ten to fifteen weeks of work at the foundry, I heat the bronze and apply a chemical patina.  Or, sometimes I paint (polychrome) the bronze.  I typically use acrylics, oils, egg tempera and or enamels.  After painting, I remove (through an ageing process) as much paint necessary to prevent the paint from looking like an apology for the bronze.

You can find a video of the lost wax casting process here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdTM5rSSJjk (not related to Stanley's work).

What inspires you to start a specific artwork?

That’s a hard question to answer as it depends upon whether I’m working on a commission or following my own creative inspiration.  It has to be emotionally positive rather than negative.  And, can’t have a derogatory presence without dignity.  It has to be uplifting to carry the spirit of the viewer to a higher state; as in inspirational music or thought.  Does not have to be religious, but must be spiritual and visually excite the senses.  That way I can have a passion for and accept the commission as my own.

That’s why I typically create my own ideas.  Although I do love the challenge of making a commission my own.  I am inspired to create through Music, Poetry, Literature, History, extraordinary feats by ordinary people and inspiration from unusual beauty.  Also, ideas and concepts that transcend myself and need to be out there to inspire others, now and in perpetuity; giving purpose and beauty to life.  Hopefully I’ll be able to leave the world a better and more interesting place than prior to my life here.

Tw-throughbreads by Stanley Wanlass

Over the last eight years I have been participating with and creating for Utah Fast Pass, eight paintings over eight years.  Each summer we have from forty to sixty super-cars come from all over the world.  We start out with a day at Miller Motor-sports track, then take a thousand mile run through the Red Rock country of Utah culminating in a Concours d’Non Elegance (exhibit of all cars with dirt & bugs) at the Grand America where we have a Gala Dinner & Auction. 100% of the funds go to 16 charities such as crippled children, Navajo Christmas, fallen Highway Patrolman’s families, etc. I donate a painting each year that is used for the route book covers, posters, advertisements and eventually, sold at auction to help fund the charities mentioned. There is much inspiration not only of speed and sound but the shapes and colors of the cars and the beautiful surrounding are beyond an artist’s dreams. Also, my love of history got me involved in creating four major Heroic Lewis & Clark Monuments on the Oregon and Washington Coast for the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial from 1982 through 2002.

What does your studio look like?

Oscar Wilde would say that it looks a lot like a “Picture of Dorian Gray”. A mess!  But an organized mess.  Yes, I do file many things, but I need specific items all in one place at one time when I’m creating.  My biggest frustration is to not be able to find a specific item when I need it.  If I file it, I might as well throw it in the trash.  It needs to be in a stack that I’m familiar with.

What are you most proud of?

My best creations are my children; which I couldn’t have produced or been successful (as well as my career) without my lovely & talented wife Joy!  Actually, she does most of the work and I take the credit. Being a part of the “rebirth of Automotive Art” The resurgence of the art that formed around the invention of the automobile in 1885; only with a difference........

Sculpture by Stanley Wanlass

There was no “Car Art” when I was growing up; to my knowledge I was the only one doing it.  There were no automotive fine artists except those involved in automobile advertising or automotive designers.  There were a couple of exceptions to this such as Peter Helck (born in 1893) & Walter Gotschke (born in 1912) who were products of the birth of the automobile and its exciting freshness.  And, a few automotive designers who were looking for a way to break away from the car companies and start painting for themselves.  Many of these fine artists became the bulk of what was to become the Automotive Fine Arts Society who solidified and legitimized this important movement.

In the late seventies or very early eighties Charlie Schalebaum (who was a New York Agent) saw one of my ads showing some of my automotive sculptures that I had put in a national magazine.  He called and asked to represent me; which started a 40 year relationship as my agent. Ten years earlier Joy & I had lived in New York City where Joy was modeling for Francis Gill Agency.  Too bad I hadn’t met Charlie then while in New York.  Maybe Automotive Art would have been launched ten or so years earlier. I owe so very much to Charlie as he had an established world-wide clientele which helped me immeasurably.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on several projects. Automotive Art: “Horse Play” (early automotive toys) on the automotive design I am continuing with the Wanlass Windshield (1932 Ford Roadster), (1934 Ford Roadster), I am currently in the planning stages of a 40 foot "SEAFARERS MEMORIAL" that will be placed at the confluence of the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River near the tip of the Astoria, Oregon Peninsula:  www.seafarersmemorial.com  simply click and scroll down for photos and information.

Seafarers Memorial by Stanley Wanlass

Seafarers Memorial by Stanley Wanlass

The City of Astoria and the Port of Astoria, plus the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working in concert to make this monument a reality.  They are currently in the planning stages of building an island with pilings and structures to hold the finished memorial.  The Riverfront Trolley will have a 'trolley stop' at the walkway (land-bridge) leading to the island and monument which is adjacent to the West-end Mooring Basin Marina and the docks where the Corps of Engineers dredge the shipping channel.  The channel allows all incoming and outgoing ships (the maritime commerce of the world) to come within a few yards of the monument; including huge cruise ships from various parts of the world which dock within a few feet of the memorial.

What is your advice for people who want to become an automotive artist?

I would ask, “Where were you when I needed you back when I was trying to put together a market for Automotive Art.” I had to recruit my artist friends and convert them to automotive art (just to make a market). Then, not too much time passed until the Automotive Fine Arts Society (AFAS) got started; which really helped to legitimize the Automotive Art scene. Unfortunately, for a while it seemed as though we had been too successful in recruiting and it attracted some mediocre talent.  But the market soon separated the serious and talented from the opportunist.  There is however, always a prominent place for genius when it comes to the ever changing face and excitement of new innovations and different avenues of artistic statements.

Another suggestion to the prospective Automotive Artist:  Your second thousand drawings, paintings or sculpture will be better than the first thousand.  And, to always being sensitive, observant and aware.  Michelangelo said, “Some people are nothing more than passages for food; producers of excretions”.

I would say to any artist: Plan, Simplify & Be Strong!  Simplicity is Power. Our dignity lies not in who we are or what we do, but in what we understand. Understanding usually only comes in retrospect.  An artist asks the world questions and the world replies, “I hear you and I answer that I cannot answer; you must find out for yourself.”  Then as the artist creatively expresses understanding, the resulting message becomes art.

Dream Machines by Stanley Wanlass

It is unfortunate that all too frequently the most gifted never do much to develop their talents to excellence.  It comes too easily, so they just slide along, unconcerned.  It is the B student that tries and works unceasingly harder that ultimately become the creative heroes of this world.  Monet said, “Things that come too easily disgust me”.  Hemingway said of F. Scott Fitzgerald, “His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly’s wings.  At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred.  Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly anymore because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless. So, not all great artists are strong & sure of themselves.  How do you judge the most fragile among us?  It is the finest blades that are most easily blunted, bent or broken.  Some artists are too fragile & vulnerable to be judged openly.

Eagles don’t chase butterflies.  Follow your Bliss

Do you have any advice for people who want to buy automotive art or start a car art collection?

Yes, give me a call! [laughs]. Collect only what speaks to you spiritually, it must feed your soul.  Don’t buy for investment, you may own it for a long time.

If thou of fortune be bereft, and in thy store there be but left two loaves, sell one, and with the dole, buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. John Greenleaf Whittier.

To see more of Stanley Wanlass's work, please visit his website.

The post Stanley Wanlass Automotive Vision of Beauty appeared first on CarArtSpot.

Hendrik, I am calling you in your studio, what are you working on?

I am doing a commission for a young man right now. His grandfather owned a Ferrari 212 in the fifities and I’m painting that car with his grandfather behind the wheel. I have to work of some old black and white photos which makes it a difficult task.

"MASERATI" by Automotive Artist Hendrik Mueller

When you are not doing a commission, how do you pick freestyle work?

Well when I see a car that I really like, I make sure I take a lot of photographs and get all the details and pick out a certain angle. Most times I see the idea already in my mind of how to paint that car.

I usually take only a small part of the car and paint that. The rest of the car is already on your brain.

"Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS, 1942" by Automotive Artist Hendrik Mueller

For the Alfa you painted the back side of the car.

Yes, the front is so different from the back side, which is so wonderful. By focusing on only a part of the car, I want to express the beauty of the whole car without showing everything. This is enough.

"The cat's eyes" Jaguar Lightweight by Hendrik Mueller

Like what you did with the E-type…

Yes, it’s enough.

What do you want to express in your paintings Hendrik?

It’s a kind of love of this car. A tribute to the car. I start with a sketch of the car. New cars are easier to paint because they don’t have so many details. They have a clean surface while older cars have more details on the outside. I want the full focus to be on the car itself. So I decide what to focus on, so I don’t give people a chance to focus on something else.

You did something similar with the Volkswagen  Beetle.

Yes, the colours of that car and the shape are not so interesting. I therefore added the lady and the shadow of the trees. The car is not complete, the lady is not complete which makes you become a part of the painting. Your mind has to come up with the rest.

"Zwei flotte Käfer" by Automotive Artist Hendrik Mueller

Humour is important to you. You like a good laugh and I noticed that you painted this cup of coffee on the expensive Ferrari Dino.

You are right, some people replied “it’s not allowed to put a cup of coffee on this car”. But that is why I did it. Well, actually I did not, I only painted it. You see, I had painted the car but something was missing to excite it and I decided to add the coffee.

Ferrari Dino by Automotive Artist Hendrik Mueller

Another example is the big steam train.

Yes, that has the title “the best way to empty a toothpaste tube”. When men look at this painting, they start discussing the technical details. But mostly women and children see the tube.

"Resita & Ajona" by Automotive Artist Hendrik Mueller

What does studio look like?

Well I am very lucky to have this large studio It's 200 square meters and it's where I also keep my 1932 Renault. I just enjoy being here on my own, working on my paintings while listening to some good Jazz music.

I’m here all day, go home to have dinner with my lovely girlfriend and then I go back for some more painting. Sometimes until 10 p.m.

What can we expect from you?

I have many ideas and sketches for paintings and I enjoy painting every day, so you will see much more work of me hopefully.

For more of Hendrik Muellers work, please go to his website

Hendrik Mueller

The post Hendrik Mueller Automotive Beauties appeared first on CarArtSpot.

David Chapple Auto Art

David, in your work ‘Majestic Glory’, I notice you have the word Jesus on the number plate of the car.

I wanted to do something with the licence plates to honour God and open the conversational doors with people and a lot of people do enquire about it. The licence plate on the actual truck that I drive reads the same thing ‘J3ZU5’and it’s just my way of thanking God for blessing me with this talent.  If you zoom in on the 1960 Empower, it says Lord. It has actually really opened the doors for me. I had a book published with a wonderful Christian writer named Ken Owen, who used to be the Head Chapel for the Raiders for Christ and he would bless all the dragster racers before they went down the quarter mile drag.

How did you get started painting cars?

I started sitting in front of the tv drawing sports figures when I was a little boy.  My father always loved VW’s and he bought a 1969 VW beetle for my grandfather and that just opened the doors for me. I was 14 years old when I started drawing cars and they quickly became my passion. When I was at senior high school, I won the Congressional Award for the State of Michigan with one of my paintings. I then received a scholarship to go to the Hope College in Holland Michigan and then in my junior year in college, I was commissioned by the Hope College to paint three large paintings for the student commission. It was a natural fit and it’s just been a life long journey with the automobile. After I graduated, I started doing certain car events and I haven’t looked back.

One of your paintings is titled ‘Love Bugs’. What is behind the name?

My wife and I have recently moved back to my home town and bought a house across the street from my Mum and Dad. We love being with family. My Dad actually loves that painting. The first paintings that I did were of his cars and he still actually has them in his collection, along with his expanded car collection. He has a ‘68 Karmann convertible, a beautiful 1958 VW Beetle convertible which is flawless, and I actually still have my original 1969 Beetle which was the first one that he purchased. We have a lot of fun with them.

Love Bugs by automotive artist David Chapple

I notice you are using the same kind of colour schemes throughout all your works. Is the choice of colours your signature style and how did you develop that?

Being an artist is finding your own path and I am someone who has always tried to create my own pallet, my own cultural work and something which no-one has ever seen. So it just came out and was a natural progression. I think as you get older as an artist, your colour choices become more complex. You try to experiment and come out with different colours which appeal to your eye.

Your ‘Love Bugs’ painting is quite unique and I notice quite a difference in your work between your commissions and your freestyle, which is much more artistic. Do you see that yourself?

Oh yes, the best clients are the ones who let you create exactly what you want to create and don’t give you parameters or tell you how to do your work. That’s when I do my best work. Back to the Love Bug, that was the first in a series of paintings. I don’t use a computer at all. Everything you see is from my mind’s eye and how I want to convey colours and the overlay. That style was very difficult for me to create. Sometimes it took me months upon months to finish a couple of pieces.

Ford GT40 by automotive artist David Chapple

I can imagine. They are kind of abstract, yet showing the iconic design of the cars itself. You did that with some non automotive work, like the coca cola bottles.

Yes and those were a lot of fun to do. Kind of a pop art style. I really enjoyed painting those.

Coca cola bottle by David Chapple

Your painting ‘Thrust’ has such a different perceptive than what you normally see in a car painting. How do you choose that. Does it take a lof of time to find the right angle?

It really does. When I am doing a layout for a painting, I will agonize over it because I want it to be a journey for the person looking at my painting. I don’t want the eye to just go to one section. I want it to have movement. In a lot of my paintings which have many cars, you will be looking down at the first car and then your eye will have to move through the painting to see the other cars. I like extreme angles when creating paintings with multiple cars. I work tediously at getting that perfect angle and I’ll work further to get it to that point and if it’s not the right angle, I don’t do the painting.

So which techniques did you use in your ‘Thrust’ painting David?

I had a lot of fun painting that. I like the extreme angle that no-one has seen before. I am on the ground, pretty much at pavement level looking at the thrust of the side pipe coming out. I like to paint sometimes from a ground level as if the car is coming right by you. How you would feel with that car inches away from you at that level?  It’s an extreme mean look.

Thrust by David Chapple

The rear tyre is wider than the car itself and it’s really a dominant kind of appeal. Which techniques do you use? Is it water colour?

Everything I do is hand painted acrylic and all done by paint brush on canvas, or on wood or substrate  I think the strongest point of my work is my blending. I love to blend a perfect graduation and I sometimes spend hours achieving the perfect blend. Someone who is not educated in art might think my work is air brushed but it’s all hand painted.

Sn8ke by automotive artist David Chapple

How do you select the car that you want to paint? When does it appeal so much to you that you have to paint it?

Being a lifelong artist, I’ve gone through the classics, the ‘30s Duesenbergs to the 50s Bel Air Chevy’s, the ‘59 Cadillacs and beyond. It’s a progression and I always have to paint something I like. I don’t want to create a painting that would just sell. I paint from the heart and I think that’s important.  Being an artist, you have to paint something that you can get really excited about and that’s when you do your best work. I’m really into the Ferrari’s now because I had never painted them and when your eyes are open to something new, you feel the excitement. I just love to paint them and I am all excited about it and can’t hide it. When it comes down to all my artwork, I like a clean, ultra refined, rich look. Everything that I do, I do to the best of my ability.

Times by automotive artist David Chapple

Do you consider cars to be art?

Yes, yes, yes.

Is your art being respected outside of the automotive world?

It’s mainly in the automotive world right now but I think that will change. Automotive art is a genre that the art museum world needs to take notice of. There are a lot of fine artists out there who are creating incredible automotive art and it needs to have its’ place. I think every automotive artist battles with that. I love my clientele and the position I am in. About two years ago, I became a member of the AFAS group and that is the pinnacle of every automotive artist. I also think the part of what makes automotive art so special is the people you work with and the people who come to these events. They are many of the nicest people you will ever meet. You can look at the grass being greener on the other side or you can make the most of what you have; that’s what I do, I make the most of what life gives to me. I love going to Pebble Beach and the Concourse in the USA and hopefully I can make it over to Europe soon and introduce my work there.

1959 Chevy Custom Bench by David Chapple

Besides paintings, you are also doing sculptures. How did that get started?

It actually started with my benches. I was given a raw flat bench for charity work. I got paid to paint on the bench. They told me to do whatever I wanted. So I painted a ‘57 Chevy on the side of it and it sold very well with their charity. So I thought ‘wow maybe I can offer this to my clientele’ and they responded well to it. Being an artist, when you go into a totally different genre or you work in a different medium, your mind gets tweaked and you become intrigued with it. If you look at the bench lines and the wood that is used, you can see that it was a natural progression into my sculpture work. My wall sculptures have the same line configuration. That was transferred from the bench to the wall sculptures and now I am doing custom furniture in the same exact lines as the bench and wall sculptures. It’s opened a whole new avenue for me creatively. I feel as if I am doing the most exploratory work of my career and I feel alive as an artist now. It’s very exciting for me.

Your sculptures look as if they can be hung on the wall or placed on a table top.

Yes, you can use them for both. I love creating that stuff. It’s very difficult but nothing that is good in life is easy. When you create something which has never been created before, there’s no set way of doing it. You have to explore with trial and error.

GT40 by automotive artist and sculptor David Chapple

Is working in 3D a lot different from working with flat paintings?

I took sculpting classes in college and knew that I wanted to get back to it someday. I just didn’t know quite how but it all fell into place. My current work has set me aside from other artists, so it’s very fulfilling.

The shapes and elements of your Porsche sculptures seem to follow the cockpit and the airflow of the car. Is that also the kind of involvement in your work?

Yeah, it depends on the subject that I am painting. Like ‘Ribbon Candy’, that is something I was designing in my mind and it turned out wonderful. I love that piece. That was the first piece I actually sold at Pebble Beach. I love the 917 and Porsches; there is something about the flow and movement of those cars. Pictures don’t do the sculptures justice because when you move around the sculptures, they move with you and shift to the image that show speed in a wonderful way. It’s fun when I see clients who see my sculptures for real and see first hand how they come to life.

Ribbon Candy Porsche auto art by David Chapple

There are a couple of AFAS members who also do sculptures. Do you share ideas and encourage each other?

I think we all encourage each other. The nice part about it is that we all have different techniques and styles. I am a painter and when I do a form, I have to think how a painting will balance on the sculpture. There are two different elements. It’s not just about creating a sculpture, I have to find a way to paint a car onto that form to convey the speed and the two work together. So it’s kind of a double edged sword when it comes to what I do. I paint on top of it and incorporate both mediums of sculpting and painting. So it’s a difficult process. At AFAS, we want the betterment of the fine art of the automobile and I think that’s the common ground for all of us. 

If you would like to see more of David Chapples’ work, please visit his website.

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César Pieri Automotive Designer and Artist

How does an Italian guy start designing British cars César?

That’s a good question.  I am Brazilian/Italian. I work at Jaguar and am running a project in Italy and travel back and forth from Italy to UK.

Working for Jaguar as a car designer must be a boys’ dream come true.

Becoming a designer for Jaguar working on sports cars is a very special thing. I even get paid.

Jaguar has a great heritage. How do you preserve that and continue with new designs?

Many other brands would be glad to have at least half of the Jaguar heritage.  Designing for a brand who has designed such beautiful cars in the past, is more than a normal job. You have to look at past designs, do a lot of research in order to understand the brand and be really attached to it. You need that as a reference. You can’t be retro. You must be forward thinking, keep your ‘mind set’ very fresh to keep producing new things

Jaguar Artwork by César Pieri

I can imagine the design history and certain elements which are every Jaguar limits you. Is that the case?

We have our design DNA and elements which every Jaguar must have. Every Jaguar must be elegant, powerful, have the right stance, the right kind of tension, surface and lines etc.  We need to keep that but in a very modern way and always looking forward. We don’t want to be retro. 

For the Project 7. What was your main challenge?

Project 7 was a very special thing. When I joined Jaguar, I worked on the F-type project and was very lucky to be able to work on that project and get into the company. But I had a D-type artwork in my desk.  I was working on the aero dynamics for a front wheel drive car and I had that artwork in front of me. The E-type was one of the most aero dynamic cars we ever had and I wondered what would happen if I mixed them both together. Nobody had asked me to sketch Project 7 and it wasn’t on the program. So it just happened.  I did a sketch and when Ian Callum saw it, he thought it was a great idea. He is completely responsible for the project moving forward. It became a personal project for me but the timing to deliver was the biggest challenge. We had an excellent interaction between our design team, our engineering team and all the people involved in the building of the car. So I think it was an absolutely stunning design exercise and very nice to be part of it. It is probably the only time that a sketch became a production car because usually the people at the top of the company decide the program and then the designers start doing a creative process. It never starts with a sketch. So it was a truly special project. 

Jaguar Project 7 sketch by César Pieri - Automotive Artist and Designer

Do you consider Project 7 to be a piece of art in itself?

It might be. I see the car in a very different way because I was part of it and it was part of my life. I don’t really know how to classify the car. I just really love it.

My future is a consequence of what I am doing now. César Pieri.

Do you think that cars can be art?

Sure, why not? If you think about the D or C type and other models, they are absolutely stunning. Take the XJS (I think he said XJS since that car has a very outspoken sportscar design); it was beautiful and at that time we had no restraints or restrictions. So it was pure intuitive design which can be considered art, for sure.

César Pieri Automotive Designer and Artist

On your website, you state that you are an automotive designer and in the evening hours, you are an artist. How does this blend?

It’s a very funny thing, I started doing artworks when I was working on the launch of the F-type convertible, the coupé, the F-type itself,  XF, FCR now. So for all the cars I had created a set of artworks, 9 or 10 depending on each car. This is very connected to Jaguar and to myself. As car designers,  we are always fighting for millimeters and everybody thinks it has a lot of glamour but it has a lot of pressure too. It is a very stressful career. We are always working with the engineers, trying to find the best way of dealing with the right materials, putting it into production, getting every part right, respecting all the laws, regulations of different countries etc. So it’s a very stressful and dynamic environment. I started doing artworks as relaxing moments. It was my way of doing something different and getting back to a more creative mindset and using it to almost restart my brain.

Jaguar artworks – New Jaguar XE by César Pieri

But if you paint your XJS bonnets in the evening hours, you obviously still have a lot of energy.

All the artworks I created for Jaguar, obviously belong to them but I wanted to do something for myself.

I wanted to do something expressive and different other than using canvas.  I kept thinking about what I could do, using my passion for Jaguars and their heritage. So I bought a bonnet in London and then tried to paint it and realized that no paint would stick to the metal. I wanted to work with very big brushes and didn’t want to be precise but show my passion with big strokes, while not really going into detail or a photographic approach.  I am doing that at work during my daytime.

I don’t know how many bonnets I lost but I needed to restart and try different things and in the end, I developed my own paint which would not melt or bubble up. The problem is, when you apply paint with a brush, it’s really thick and that will never dry because the material will never absorb the paint.

It was a very experimental project and in the end, I started to get passionate about it and bought more and more bonnets. In the end I had more than 25 bonnets at home. In my living room, my garden, everywhere. It was crazy.

Auto Art Bonnets and Design by César Pieri

You said you don’t put a lot of detail in your bonnets but there is still a lot of detail of the car.

Because of my background and how we work on a daily basis which is really precise and detailed, to me my artworks are not and I consider it as art because it is so difficult for me not to go into detail.

So it started as an escape from your day job and now it has become your own expression.

That’s the funny thing about it. I started about 1.5 years ago with no expectations. I did industrial design at university and worked for many years as a graphic designer in New York, Brazil, Italy and the UK. So I wanted to mix all that 'exPierience' and create something different. But I never thought about showing it because it started out as a single bonnet. Then one day a friend came to my house  and saw my garage was full of painted bonnets in the corner. He wanted to look at them. He asked why I didn’t show them. For me it was personal and for my own pleasure but he wanted to show them. There was Motorfest in Coventry and my friend found a place to put my bonnets. The feedback was quite stunning. People liked it and I thought that was really cool. Then I got an invitaton to take them to the museum in Gaydon, UK which is the biggest British automotive museum in the UK. I went to Gaydon and stayed there for two months. Then I got an invitation to take my artwork to Dubai, to Brazil and to Italy. So now they were in this museum in Italy and for me it was just stunning because it is the most important and biggest automotive museum in Europe. It was just fantastic and the feedback I am getting from that is so nice. Also from the Motorfest and in magazines all around the world. It was a ‘wow’ feeling and it’s really moving forward very fast.

What triggers me about your story is that you showed your own vulnerability by going public with your private work because you never know how it will be received. How was that for you?

As a car designer, I am under this kind of pressure of being judged all the time. People are always looking at what I am creating and sketching and judging.  So I am used to critiscm. I always say to my wife that I am in the ‘no’ profession and sometimes I get a ‘yes’.  So I am very used to this approach but I received a very different feedback from people about my bonnets.

Auto Art Bonnets and Design by César Pieri

Why do you think that is? Is it because you are using bonnets or is it the topic of your work?

I think both.  Using Jaguar bonnets and being a Jaguar designer, it makes sense. It has the right kind of thinking behind it. That’s why I decided to do this. Because of my passion for the brand and for what I am doing. Because I am a designer and maybe an artist as well, I am possibly discovering another side to myself. 

What is it that you want to express with your artwork?

That’s the point. I didn’t intend to show it to anyone. I wanted to satisfy my own request to have  a different artwork in my living room. It’s a crazy thing which you don’t expect to have happen.

I hear that from other artists; it’s a drive from within, to express themselves in their artwork. Is that the same for you?

I don’t have that necessity for expressing myself. I do that everyday in my work. I put ideas from my brain onto a piece of paper or a computer at least 8 hours per day. So it’s a very creative way of doing things. 

Artwork hand-sketch by César Pieri

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale Artwork by César Pieri

Where do you find your inspiration César?

I think it’s my love for Jaguar and the automotive field. 

Do you study the work of other car designers or artists?

To be a car designer is a very complex thing. You must know a lot of automotive designs, know other designers, know very well the brand you are sketching because you must sketch that brand and not the other ones. So you must understand the other brands as well since you don’t want to put a competitor’s detail in your car design. You need to come up with something new. I have a Masters Degree and have studied architecture, so have always been connected to this field. I still study everyday and try to get better and better to constantly move forward. I work together with the advance design team, so we get the most exciting technology our suppliers can provide. They are constantly updating us and always show us what they might be doing in ten years time. 

Porsche Type 908K by César Pieri Automotive Artist and Designer

Where do you see yourself in ten years time?

I dream about it but I don’t think about it. Everyone is driven by something. I try to live in a very intense way and keep my life focused on what I am doing now, and do that really well and  try to prepare for the future. I am now sketching cars for 2025. We try to predict what will happen in the future. My future is a consequence of what I am doing now. I am trying to enjoy all the opportunites that I am having now. When I was younger, i was working for a bank drawing technical plans.  Now that I work with car design, I have to work with 3D programs and all the things I did in the past, is who I am today. So probably what I am doing now will be very important for me in the future.

To see more of César PieriPieri’s work, please visit his website and The Jaguar Bonnet Art Collection

Design Pieri Auto Art

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At the Retromobile in Paris recently, we saw the unique and artistic work by Amaury Dubois for the first time. His photographic modifications of cars are dynamic and intriguing! Of course, CarArtSpot wanted to know more.

Amaury Dubois - Artist & Photographer

Was your recent exposition at Retromobile in Paris successful for you Amaury?

It was a really good introduction and a surprising success for my new work.  There was a lot more interest than I had expected and I think I was successful in bringing my vision of photography from a different aspect, over to the public.

La Ferrari by Amaury Dubois

How long have you been doing cars?

I have been an artist for 14 years. My first work was with paintings but I studied photography in Belgium. I did photography at the weekends but my real work was paintings. It took about eight years before I figured out my own style in photography and I thought it was time to show my work.

You have been successful with both photography and your paintings.

In the past I have been more successful with my paintings but the last years there has been a lot of interest in my photographic work. I am self-taught and the difference you see in my photographical work comes from my painting style. I take photos in the same way as I paint.

So you use the same technique and principle for both?

Yes. I plan my photo’s in the same way as I would plan a painting. I look for the eye-line and at the anatomy of the objects in the photo.

Ferrari 250 GTE by Amaury Dubois

Looking at your Ferrari 250GTE which also provides a view inside the car, kind of showing all the elements. Is that what you mean by the anatomy?

No, my style is like a guide for your eyes.  It’s a way of looking at it which draws out your own idea of what you think about it. It is more about someone’s’ own dream or vision of a car, instead of just a photo of the car.

So what is your dream of the car? Is it the feeling of the powerful engine and sitting inside and driving this wonderful car?

Yes.  It’s not a static photo. It’s about the speed of the car.

You keep each element in place but also very detailed. You don’t blur it. It is in focus.

I keep all the elements and the line of the car and at first glance, you only see a car. But when you look at the photo more carefully, your brain starts working and you see that there is something different with the photo. You see the front, the back, the engine and all the parts of the car but what is this car? It makes someone think.

Aston DBS 2 by Amaury Dubois

Interior Design by Amaury Dubois

Do you start with a sketch before you start working with the photo?

Yes and I start doing the photos based on my sketch. So I know exactly which photos I need to take, it’s like a shopping list.

Do all the different images come from your database?

No. I have to find car collectors. Sometimes I phone them and other times it goes via word and mouth but the car collectors want to first see my work and meet with me in person before taking me to their collection. Some collectors have very expensive cars stored in very secretive places. It’s very interesting. They like the style of my work and this is why they want to work with me. It’s not just a usual photo of a car. It’s a very different style.

How do you produce your graphical work featured on your new website? Do you use real paints or keep it digital?

I start with a real painting, then take a photo of that painting and then I work with it on the computer.

Painting by Amaury Dubois

Looking at your gallery, I see most of your work has a black background and not yet all these graphical designs. Where are you going with this?

It is still in the experimental stage at the moment. I am not really sure. Maybe it will re-appear in a few years. For the moment, I prefer a black background.  But I always try something different and this is part of my research.

The audience only gets to see the tip of the Iceberg

Before I go to take the photos of the car, I make lots of sketches in preparation of how I want to photograph the car and from which angles. I am a painter and so I work like a painter. I am not like other photographers. It’s more my brain and spirit that do the photo’s which lead to my creations.

I think that is why you are reaching so many new people. Your work goes much further and deeper than other digital photographers.

Like an architect, I need a map and plan.

Corvette C1 by Amaury Dubois

Porsche 918 Spyder by Amaury Dubois

What is your dream for the coming years?

When I see a new car, there’s a new dream. I am going to Singapore soon for an exposition of my paintings.

As an artist you are very diverse, you do paintings, photos but there are also some sculptures

Yes, but for the moment it is only a stage. I am working on it but it’s not ready.

So you have a lot of ideas which still need to be created.

Yes, my brain is full of ideas.

Interior Design by Amaury Dubois

To see more of Amaury Dubois’s work, please visit his website: http://www.amaury-dubois.com/fr/

For his automotive art he recently launched a new website at http://www.art-photo-car.com/en/

The post Amaury Dubois Gives Cars A New Dimension appeared first on CarArtSpot.

Benjamin Freudenthal

The movie director of automotive art – La Dolce Vita by Benjamin Freudenthal

Benjamin, it was so nice to meet you at the Retromobile in Paris. How did it go for you?

It was the best show I have ever done and a tremendous start to 2016.

In which way was it successful?

My painting ‘La Dolce Vita’ got a lot of attention and my “gangster” paintings were also very popular. People were curious about the human presence in the paintings and really liked the stories in my paintings. The humour and the fact that the characters are doing funny things. People kept stopping, looking and smiling.

Have those reactions confirmed that you are in the right direction?

Yes definitely. A friend of mine, Dominique who was with me at the Retromobile, had been telling me to paint nice girls and people and to tell funny stories in my paintings and bring some humour into my artwork. I think he is right.

You have done many automotive paintings but I think your character paintings are the best. Like Bonnie & Clyde for instance.

Making art is very personal and the problem with automotive art is that you mainly paint by commission and are asked to do what the customer wants. It’s not usually about fun, or fantasy. It’s mostly very serious and you have to be very accurate with all the details. This is why I like to choose the subject myself and especially because I recognize myself much more in my gangster and narrative paintings.

The Barrow Gang by Benjamin Freudenthal

The humour you put in your painting is not always immediately noticeable. I only just realized that you have painted yourself in La Dolce Vita.

It is the tradition in the history of art that the artist puts himself in the background somewhere. Even in movies. In my gangster painting ‘The Barrow Gang’, I am pushing the Ford V8 car and all my friends are around me and Dominique is driving the car. That painting is very big;  3 meters long. Bonnie and Clyde, who you see in the foreground, are my neighbours. They posed for me and I took photo’s of them wearing the clothes but changed their faces to Warren Beatty and Fay Dunnaway. I started doing those kind of paintings about four years ago.

I notice that the lady in those paintings is always wearing the same dress. What is the meaning behind that?

Art by Benjamin Freudenthal

Well those paintings tell a story about a movie and that is the reason why the woman wears the same dress. I first used the dress in my Barrow Gang painting and afterwards it was like a piece of a puzzle. It’s a visual effect to make people understand that each painting is a part of the puzzle and story. I still want to make nine more gangster paintings but you will see them in very different compositions and in different atmospheres; inside banks robbing, racing with cars, being in love, kissing and dying. Every time it will be a typical scenomatic composition with a very typical atmosphere and lighting.

Are they scenes from different movies or do you make them up yourself?

I invent the stories but they are inspired by gangster movies. Tragically most of them will die but I want to make paintings which are both attractive and also very sad.

I find it fascinating that you came up with this story about gangsters and have layed them out in a series of paintings.

Yes, there will be twelve in total. I have painted three and still have nine to paint. I already storyboarded all of the paintings. I just have to paint them now. The problem is they take a very long time, many years in fact and I also have to make commissions for a living in the meantime.

This series is very close to your heart. Will you sell all the paintings?

I will do my best. The first three have already been sold but it isn’t a fashion subject. So I hope to sell them all.

In my opinion your narrative work really shows more of yourself and triggers emotion. I see the difference between your commission work and your personal choice.

Yes, there is a very big difference. Not only in what is shown or told but also technically. There is much more knowledge in my narrative work than in my motorsport paintings. I go much further but maybe because I would really like to be accepted as a painter, rather than an automotive artist. I want to show that I know how to paint and how far I can go. That is why there is such a big difference between my narrative paintings and my automotive productions.

Porsche 356, Mille Miglia 1957 - Bâche by Benjamin Freudenthal

If you compare your older works to your work in 2014/15, your later work is more accomplished.

Yes I agree. I learned a lot from Stanley Rose. He is the person who taught me to be more confident on how to put the brush strokes onto canvas and be myself.  I have followed Stanley’s work for many years and if I had not met Stanley and seen his work so closely, or had so many talks with him, I wouldn’t have been able to do that with my last personal artworks. All artists have spiritual favours from people who show them something. Technically, Stanley Rose is very impressive.

Mille Miglia by Benjamin Freudenthal

Can you share with us how you developed your style and technique and choice of topics?

I am a movie lover but my first real emotions as a little boy, were aircrafts and cars which were in the movies.  I’ve always been in love with westerns and television series, but what is it we really love? Is it the actors or the cars? We love films and series because we love the characters, and I wanted to express that through my work. I wanted to paint characters and show that cars are driven by people and by guys who are much more interesting than the machines they drive. I wanted to show that I am involved in the cinema. All those reasons drove me to change my style and show characters. The problem was that a few years ago, I was technically too weak and didn’t have enough experience to do that.  Now I have and can really see what I want to do.

Jaguar typeE à Bordeaux by Benjamin Freudenthal

Are you influenced by any other artists?

Well obviously Stanley Rose has been a tremendous influence but also other artists like Tom Fritz who is  a really good artist. His paintings also tell stories.  The Americans are really good storytellers. Norman Rockwell is another one.

With your artwork, the viewer looks and fantasizes their own story.

That is what I want. I started experimenting to see what reactions my work would get.

Well with ‘The Share’, the story springs out at the viewer.

Yes, the animals give it some humour and the painting is not overly sentimental. This painting wouldn’t have been the same without that dog in the front.

The Share by Benjamin Freudenthal

So what is your dream? How do you see yourself in five or ten years from now?

I will continue with narrative paintings of people and many crowded paintings with funny things and a lot of humour. I will cast people to help me by posing for the characters. My future work will probably be compared to a film director who makes movie scenes on canvas. I want to be a film director on canvas and give people the impression that they are in the cinema when they look at my artwork.

Gangsters by Benjamin Freudenthal

I think the success you have had at the Retromobile is a good indication that you are on the right track Benjamin.

I think so too and I am really motivated to pursue this course. My best work is yet to come!

Keep an eye open for more of Benjamins work and visit his website.

The post Automotive Movies on Canvas appeared first on CarArtSpot.

Paul White Automotive Art - Yellow on black (Firebird) stack

Paul, do you consider yourself an Automotive Artist or a general artist?

I guess I am not an Automotive artist in general but I have always been into cars. Growing up with the car culture in the suburbs of Sydney, my Dad and family always had cars and I have always liked Australian Muscle cars. General Motors particularly. I’ve had a few Muscle cars and still have a 1974 Holden Torana SL/R 5000. It’s kind of like the Australian version of the Camaro. It’s bright green with black stripes. A real Muscle car.

Do you do all the mechanics on the car yourself?

Yes I like to do a bit but don’t have much time these days.

Your drawings show a lot of technical details of the cars and always a kind of deterioration. Can you share what is behind that?

Well I grew up with old cars and I used to go with my Dad to wrecking yards to get parts for them. This is almost 30 years ago and if you needed a part for your car, you’d have to go to the wrecking yard and explore there for the parts you needed. Maybe that’s where it began. Thinking back to that, the decay, obsolescence and the way old things pass away with time and new things are created. It has to do with the whole idea of the history which you see in those wrecking yards.

Paul White Automotive Art - Leftovers (sandwiched)

Do you visit those yards and take photo’s for inspiration? How does that process work?

I lived for a while in Los Angeles and I think a lot of my ideas about decay came from there. It’s such a big metropolis and is kind of in decay itself. I’ve been back a few times just to take photo’s and visit wrecking yards, where you see lots of older cars.

Your work is always about vehicles like old trucks, trailers and some campers etc. But there are never people involved. Why is that?

Well maybe that’s inspired by all the end of the world movies I’ve watched. Where there is nothing left in the world except the remnants of things falling apart which were once used and necessary for us to get around. I like the quietness you get from looking at those objects.

Is that a message you want to convey with your art? The deterioration and uselessness of how the cars become?

Yeah, because there is a kind of beauty in that as well. In looking at those things which are so neglected and abandoned. I try to make them beautiful and really nice to look at. I guess there is also a message in there about our culture and the state of our world.

Paul White Automotive Art - White knight end of night (Firebird) looking forward to

Paul White Automotive Art

You have done the Firebird on your homepage at least twice from different angles.

Yeah, I’ve done a few angles of that one. I guess there is also a personal connection with some cars because they are automotives which I desired as a kid, or saw in movies. I’m sure I drew pictures of them back then too. By presenting them in that run down state, it’s like time has passed and that is all behind me. But there are particular cars like that, that I have an interest in anyway.

Your style is always pencil on paper.

Yes I always use pencil on paper. I’ve probably been working in that way for about 14 years. Before that I made different artwork when I went to Art School.

How did you develop your style? Do you see some evolution in your work Paul?

I hadn’t drawn since a kid really and wanted to go back and teach myself. It was a personal challenge and I progressed further and further. I like the idea of seeing how far I can go with such a simple medium like pencil and paper.

Paul White Automotive Art - Dodgetown hazard meeting

You have a definite Paul White signature. Is it difficult to maintain that?

I guess it’s a logical progression and one thing leads to the next and it makes sense.

How would you describe your own signature style?

I don’t know. They are highly detailed colour pencil drawings but I guess what sets my signature style is how I present them. With a lot of white space around the image to give you more focus without any distraction.

You have a very consistent palette in the colours you use.

Yes, I guess I like the muted colours and with pencils you are a bit limited. It’s not like mixing with paints.

Paul White Automotive Art - Yin and yang (Camaro)

You use a lot of  Graffiti in your artwork. Is that already on the subject in the scrapyard or do you come up with that yourself?

I think it’s probably there a lot in real life. Like when you go to a big wrecking yard with 4000 cars or so. There’s quite a lot of graffiti with all those cars going to waste. It’s also maybe the intensity of my drawings which bring it out as well because they are quite detailed and that also elevates the sense of gravity. 

Do you have a bucket list of things you feel you really need to do?

I would like to look at using paints as another challenge for myself.

Don’t you have the feeling that it’s tricky to change and tend to want to stick with what works?

Yes, it is tricky when you become known for doing a certain thing. You feel as if you should stay consistent but it’s nice not to get stuck in doing the same thing as well. It’s also good to keep it interesting for yourself and for your audience and to try different things and evolve in different directions.

Do you speak to other artists for inspiration and feedback?

I have a lot of friends who are artists and I guess we inspire each other by seeing what the other does.

Who is your main inspiration at the moment as an artist?

Oh, there are too many. Lots of famous painters and a lot of my friends who are doing really great work. It’s inspiring to be a part of that community.

Paul White Automotive Art - Leftover chop shop second coming

Do you have contact with other artists who paint cars?

I’m probably alone in my group of friends for doing car art. Although we all grew up with Muscles cars and all appreciate cars. I know of another artist who is doing car elements in a very conceptional way but it’s not really about the car itself. His name is Aaron Martin .

What do you think triggers buyers to purchase and collect your art Paul?

Sometimes they are car people. Like the guy who bought the Firebird. He had a Firebird himself. Other people may not particularly be into cars but appreciate the image as an artwork.

How do you promote your work? I notice you have lots of awards and prizes.

Art prizes are always a great way to promote your work. They give you some kind of validation and often the judges are good people to have view your work. I have a couple of galleries who represent and promote my work but more people probably see my work via social media.

Paul White Automotive Art - Evolutionary extinction (commodore heights)

What kind of advice can you give to struggling artists just starting?

I guess you just have to follow your passion. If you have the drive to do it, just keep going and it will find an audience one way or another. Social networks are great to promote yourself and spread the images you make. It’s probably as good a way as galleries ever were. It’s a tough road being an artist and even artists doing extremely well can fall out of flavour. Those who are dedicated, just keep at it and don’t know any better.

What can we expect in the coming months Paul? Any new challenges?

Well, although cars will always play a role in my work, I am starting to think more about natural elements like botanical work, landscapes and more elements of nature compared to the mechanical. Or maybe a combination of the two. But I am known for my cars, so I will keep the consistency as well.

To see more of Paul Whites work, please visit his website

More links:

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See also Paul White Time-Lapse of a Drawing

The post Paul White Wrecked Car Beauty appeared first on CarArtSpot.

Sue Steele Thomas Automotive Artist

Sue, I read on the AFAS site that you are an Art Professor as well. You must have a busy schedule.

It is but it’s a good one. I really like to teach. The kids are eager and they want to learn, so it makes my job fun and I paint because it’s something I have to do. If I don’t paint, I don’t feel well. It’s in the soul.

So what made you pick cars?

That’s a good one. My father used to repair them and when I met my husband he had several cars which he was restoring, Then I was forced to do an illustration of an automobile in a college class and it struck me what amazing machines automotives are. My father built things out of metal and could repair anything. So the mechanics were just so intriguing to me. It’s always been a mans world and I wondered what I could do to be part of it and I think by painting them, it was my way of getting into the automotive world.

Every Bugatti must be a holistic masterpiece in art, form and technique

Turning Through The Clouds by Sue Steele Thomas

Jag In The Daisies by Sue Steele Thomas

When was the moment you threw in the flowers?

I thought my parents would think I had gone mad. What was this woman doing to these beautiful cars? I did realistic art in the beginning and some illustrations for a magazine a long time ago. The Art Director back then was Bill Motta who is of course a founding member and VP of AFAS. Bill became my mentor and mentored me for about 26 years of my life and he was the one who told me that I had to be different and find something which made me stand out from the rest.  So I started putting in the flowers and you know something? He was right and it worked.

You can do or be anything that you choose. You don’t have to settle.

Did that also fit with your personal expression of art Sue?

Yes absolutely. We live in the mountains of Virginia and I love nature and flowers. I would always photograph nature and automobiles and just decided to put them together. Sometimes I look at them and think they are just crazy but they are very expressive and colourful. I want the viewer to see the nature and the car.

I really like your painting of the car with the daisies. It’s almost as if the daisies are competing with the automobile.

Well as an artist, I am so involved in the process of doing the painting and then later I look at it and see things which I didn’t even realize I was painting. When I look at my newer work, it makes me really excited and I am able to appreciate it myself.

Alfa Romeo Through The Shasta Daisies

So how does the process work? How do you come up with the idea and concept?

I use my husbands brains. He is a painter, a semi-retired Art Professor and he has great ideas. So we put our ideas together to come up with imagery. I sketch and draw the old fashioned way and he will pull something up on the computer because he is a really good digitial guy. We both take photo’s and he has been a great partner helping to create this new side of Sue. I use gouache and have to segment everything and I think that’s what helps make my work unique because everything has it’s own entity.

Bentley In The Garden by Sue Steele Thomas

There are a lot of great water colour artists but your technique really stands out from anything else I have seen in automotive art.

I work with gouache and you can’t mix it. I work in shapes. I’ve been trying to figure gouache out for many years and if it’s wrong you have to take it off because you can’t paint over it.

Is it a long process to do one painting Sue?

It is a long process and sometimes after an exhibition, some of my automotive peers will pat me on the back and they’ll say ‘Well Sue it’s been nice exhibiting with you and now go home and try to get faster’. They always tell me that because the process I use is so long and I don’t paint as many paintings as they do. A lot of work goes into all the shapes and if you look at my paintings close up, it’s pretty neat. I’ve actually worked on a couple of paintings for a year and a half while doing other paintings in the meantime.

Are any of your students interested in automotive art?

I have so many fans amongst my students who love cars and are really inspired. That is an incredible compliment to me that they are interested in the automobile. I reckon they think it’s pretty incredible that I am a female painting automotives and I hope I have opened up the door for other females to do the same.

The McLaren by Sue Steele Thomas

What is the most important lesson that you teach your students?

That they can do or be anything that they choose. They don’t have to settle. When they ask me how they can achieve that, I tell them it’s called ‘hard work’. It doesn’t matter what field or what you are going to do, when you think you’ve worked hard, you are going to have to work even harder. You can’t paint once a week and be successful. You have to be dedicated enough to give up some things in life. I have and I took the chance to paint 8-10 hours a day which turned out to be a wonderful opportunity and propelled me into a lot of great things because I have learned my craft. So it takes time and it takes work. You need to paint everyday. If you don’t feel that way about it, you shouldn’t do it. You need to want it badly enough.

Do your students all have that kind of passion and dedication to make the sacrifices that come with being an artist?

A lot of my students do have that passion and I teach advanced levels of courses and they are the students who become more and more serious. One of my students has taken my water colour classes for about ten years and he has become a really good water colour artist. I am really proud of some of my students. They have taught me a lot. It’s not just a one sided thing in the learning business. They encourage me to paint and have taught me about myself. I have several students who are probably going to be very succesful out there.

Car-Art by Sue Steele Thomas

Do you share your work with your students and have them critique it?

I do. I take a new painting when it’s in the process and sometimes I take it when it’s finished. I love to get their critique.

It’s really nice that you and your husband encourage each other. Do you also critique each other?

Are you kidding? We are both very vocal. One time, he was sitting at the drawing table with a really serious look on his face and I asked him what was wrong. He said ‘Sue, this tyre is not round’ and he had some tracing paper and a pencil going over my tyre showing me how to draw the tyre. And I was like ‘don’t you have something else to do?’.  Seriously though, we critique each other in a very positive way and it’s great.

Are there any other automotive artists who inspire you?

Oh my goodness, so many. I recently became an associate member of AFAS. Of course everyone wants to be a member of the AFAS and I feel very fortunate. I have been a fan of Ken Eberts, William Motta and Ken Dallison for years.  Also Nicola Wood, who I got to exhibit with a couple of years ago. We hugged each other and she is just such a beautiful lady who is an incredible artist. I’ve done the Concours and have exhibited with people like Roger Blanchard, who is a friend and a wonderful person. Roger got me an invitation to the first art show I ever did and is a great guy. Charlie Maher is another great guy and we go way back. There are so many and these guys are like family. We’ve adopted them and they’ve adopted us. We have this wonderful comradery but we are really grateful to each other and proud of each other and very inspired to be better. Those guys have helped me so much along the way and I am so glad to be in this world. It’s such an honour. But you need to be competitive and work really hard.

DeLage Among Purple Flowers by Sue Steele Thomas

Bugatti Veyron Entering The Clouds by Sue Steele Thomas

I looked at your awards and quite a lot of them are related to aumototive art. What do you think is needed to get automotive art accepted in the regular fine arts world?

I think that is a really good question. My husband and I think about that all the time and ask ourselves how we can get in as an art form to be accepted in the main stream. The calibre of art is very high and we need to be even better but also need people to consider it as fine art and to promote and sponsor us. Automotive Art is a really unique art form. We need to capture the attention of people who appreciate automotives and art as well and we need exposure and to be appreciated for what we do. I want my art to be in the right places and I live by my motto ‘we can be and do anything we choose’.

To see more of Sue's work, please visit her website.

The post Sue Steele Thomas A Southern Belle Automotive Artist appeared first on CarArtSpot.

Ferrari In Art by Paul Chenard

Artist Paul Chenard might be best known for his fast sketches of classic cars. At many car events in the UK or Canada you will find him sitting somewhere in a corner sketching another beauty. Passers by often stop to see what he is creating and share the admiration for the car and his wonderful skills.

Paul has a professional background as a graphic designer but his passion is creating art and writing about the history of automobile racing. In his new self-published  book “Ferrari in Art – A celebration of the legend”, he shares a fine collection of his work. Each drawing comes with some background information about the race.

Ferrari In Art by Paul Chenard

His graphic roots certainly show off in this well designed little book. You can feel the love for his work in all the small details. From the image hand-glued on the hardcover to the choice of high quality paper and font types. All the details have been perfected. And the nice deal is that this book comes with an optional small poster of your choice.

My favourite is the poster of the “Ferrari Garage – The Night before the 12 hours of Sebring 1962”. This is the sketch of the scene with two cars highlighted in blue and red. Paul did me a big favour by signing the poster and the book.

Ferrari In Art by Paul Chenard

Make sure you get your personal copy soon because his previous book sold out quickly and has already become a collectors item.

The format is a 28-page 9.75”x 8.25” hardcover book with slipcover. When book buyers request their Ferrari poster, Paul also includes a book-cover label and bookplate as added free gifts.

Ferrari In Art by Paul Chenard

Get your copy here:

http://www.blurb.com/books/6772551-ferrari-in-art

To see Paul's work, please visit his website and https://www.pinterest.com/automobiliart/

Read our previous interview with Paul Chenard

The post Ferrari In Art by Paul Chenard appeared first on CarArtSpot.