Pass on what you have learned.

A wise man once told me, I should pass on what I've learned,or It will die with me. He was also the same man that taught me much of what I know about this art form called, Pinstriping. He was passing his knowledge on so it would live on beyond him. This past weekend I attended the L.A.National Roadster Show.I spent some time striping next to one of our business' icons, Tom Kelly. The man has a multitude of talents beyond mere pinstriping.. He turned to me at one point and asked "How long did it take you to learn to stripe"? Well I've never really considered myself as a master of that little brush, but as that wise man also said "I may not be the best striper, but I can hold my own with most of them. Without a lot of thought ,I answered Tom,"I'm still learning". He looked at me, smiled, and said "That's the right answer" . I've met Mr. Kelly at several events that I've been to, but never really knew him more than to just say ,Hi. After a couple days I recalled the whole event and wondered what made him ask me that question. Just like my wise man It was his way of testing me. To find out how serious I was about my art form.. Both men were cut from the same cloth.Tom Kelly's grandfather was the Barron, Partner of my wise man way back in his early days. I could just see the Barron saying that same thing to him. With Tom, I felt like I had had another episode with the wise man. I learned a lot from him. Not just about how to load a brush, or do a script stroke, but also about the business, people, and life in general. The real kicker is that I didn't know that I was learning all that, till years later when the wise man was gone. After thinking about it, I've learned many things from watching Mr. Kelly. The times I've been around him, he's been very open ,working and sharing his skills with those who want to pay attention. The value of what has been passed to me makes me realize I have an obligation to use it to the best of my ability. I've been involved in the custom paint thing for more than 30 years. I've met a lot of artists in that time. Good ones, and not so good ones. Some with a lot of talent and others that try very hard. The ones that have my deepest respect are the ones that are serious about being better artists .There are those that just want to crank out the money. Don't get me wrong, I'm a diehard capitalist but, the best pinstripers are the ones with a passion for their art, not money. If your a good one the money will come. Not that you are going to get rich doing this but, you can make a respectable living and to me the perks of selfemployment out weigh the negatives. I love what I do, and I thank the wise man for helping me be able to do that. I can't pay back, but, by passing it on , I can do what another man I respect, said to do..Pay forward..
Here we are at the recent Rat Fink Reunion, having a striping seminar..

Well It's been a while since my last post. Winter has been cold so far. Work has been slow,so I've been doing some remodel work on the house. I'll put up some pics when I get done. This past weekend I went to Los Angeles to attend the Pinstriper Reunion at the Grand National Roadster show. I flew in and hooked up with my good friend Jimmy C ,from San Clemente. He and Dena put me up for the weekend and hauled me with them to the show Wed. After a stop at the In-N-Out Burger ( Thanks Tom!!!), I met Jimmy, and Preston Wilson at the Pomona fair grounds. They were taking Preston's 51 woody to the show. His car is the coolest surf woody I've seen yet. Jimmy did the paint work as well as some extremely cool sculptures that were made into hood ornaments , emblems and door locks. All in polished metal..ultra cool.
I forgot what it was like to clean for an indoor show..
Jimmy painted this great can to go with the display.....OUTRAGEOUS! The pinstriper reunion was held in front of the stage,in the main building. There were stripers there from all over the country,and a lot of cool art was produced for the charity auction..

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top came by and tried his hand at the little brush... This is one of the pieces I did for the auction.. Jimmy C...What a mad man.... want rice cake Jimmy???
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This was an awesome show. It used to be the Oakland Roadster show,but moved to L.A. a few years ago. It is the largest indoor show I've ever been to. Lots of top notch machinery.

One of the 8 buildings had a number of old customs including the original Outlaw b y Ed Roth , and the Ala Kart from Mr. Barris.

For me one of the highlights of the weekend was the premier of the freshly restored Orbitron, the long lost Ed Roth creation.. Way Kool

Before I left I did a panel to trade with East Coast Artie.I brought home a couple more pieces for my striper collection.The weekend was a sucess.

My friend Dave Bell, auto cartoonist extrordinar, was on hand to sign posters he did special for this show..Love this mans work...DAVE YOU RULE!!

I want to thank Jimmy C and Dena!. Two fabulous people.. your the best. Now back to reality...UUhhh