Old School Classic Car Illustration

•

As part of a new fine art print collection I am creating a series of digital paintings re-creating a classic painted illustration style common to car catalogues in the early 1960s. I learned to draw and paint cars from senior artists in the 1980s who had worked with legendary Detroit talent like Bernie Fuchs, Robert Hiendel, and Mark English, Robert Heindel and Mark English.

To commemorate this golden age of car illustration I have used dramatic angles and focal distortion with loose brush work to pay homage to the legendary art of Art Fitzpatrick and his partner Van Kaufman who together created some of the most enduring car illustrations of the 1960s.

* * *

Prints available at fineartamerica

1969 Dodge Super Bee

I am returning to the looser-style car paintings using my Wacom tablet with this classic Dodge model. Feels good the throw the digital paint around again. The reference image was taken at the 2016 Woodward Dream Cruise. I exaggerated the shadows from an overhanging tree and pushed the cool/warm contrast to create a more magical mood.

1964 Mercury Comet Cyclone

This painting came together in a vintage 1960s car ad style. Just sort of happened with that mint blue paint color. I actually photographed the car at the Eyes on Design Car show back in 2015. The glowing sun created some atmospheric backlighting, so I figured why not paint it in a field of poppies.

1938 Packard 12 1608 Town Car Abstract

1941 Cadillac Series 75 Seven Passenger Sedan by Fischer
I am continuing with my abstract expressionist car emblem paintings. Loose and fun.

1969 Pontiac Firebird 400

I painted this classic model set in a red stone box canyon somewhere in Arizona. The reference image was taken at the 2016 Woodward Dream Cruise. I indicated the famous red rock of Arizona with using brushstrokes and placed a live oak behind the car to frame the scene.