Good Art for Badd Eggs

Every year since 2003 the Sacremento Poor Boys have hosted Midnight Mass, a traditional pre-’65 car show/all night event. Here’s a link to the youtube clip. This year they asked me to do the design for the shirts and posters. They wanted something different than the usual “big drawing of a hot rod” kinda thing, so here’s what I came up with.

I was a little nervous about how it would be received because It’s a departure from the tried and true car show tshirt. I wasn’t sure that people were going to want to deviate from the norm. They sold out in one day. I guess I should have known there’d be deviants at this show.

After all, it’s the people that make up the show, really. The turnout and the vibe were better than any previous Billetproof show that I’ve been to, and the quality of the cars was very high. The highest I can remember. Maybe Billetproof has taken all the hokey rat rods with it? Thank you thank you thank you. The pinup girl contest was a hit, and the swap meet was great in the new location. Everyone had fun, and I can tell you that mini bike races are going to be a fixture from now on. I am working on my bike already, making some mods and updates so that I can wash away the bitter taste of dust and defeat. Adding the Road Devils and Nightmares to the mix was the best idea we ever had. They’re both great clubs and good friends. Including the cars from the clubs, we hit the 400 car mark.

There are still some stickers, tshirts, patches and posters on the sinsofsteel.com site. Thanks everybody! See you next year!

While I was hanging out at Autorama this year, I got a text from Kent at LIFT gallery telling me that a couple more of my paintings from the Circus Mobius show I did with Audrey Pongracz had sold. It was good news, but made all the sweeter when I stopped by the store to pick up my check. Turns out it the person that bought them was none other than Meg White. That put an extra little kick in my step, you know? Thanks Meg. Wanna do a show together?

I just want to add that if you haven’t been there, go to LIFT and check their store out. They regularly feature artists from Detroit, and also pull in artists from all over America and Europe. They are big into the vinyl toys, and they have all kinds of cool books and just… stuff. Hit them up online at http://www.liftfootwear.com.

I’m stoked to announce my newest show, Circus Mobius, in conjunction with LIFT Gallery (click here for press release) (click here for map). For this show I’ve teamed up with one of my favorite Detroit artists, Audrey Pongracz, to create a body of new paintings and vinyl toys. The opening on Saturday December 12th will continue with the carnival theme and feature flame eaters, circus food, and costumes. Come dressed up in you best carnival getup, Audrey and I will be! Pick up Real Detroit next week for more info. See you there!

This Wednesday, in collaboration with Joshua Adams/Kitchen Sink, I’ll be having an opening at Goodnight Gracie in Royal Oak. The event starts at 8:30 and Joshua Adams spins old school funk/soul classic rock and hiphop. Art will be on display for one week. The vibe is relaxed. I’ll be there as well just chillin’ and swillin’ so come hang out. There will be a mix of originals and prints there for sale so come and pick up something new. See you there!

I started writing this story a few years back as a way to track the progress I was making on my car. Also, it was a way to share the experience with family and fiends, er, friends that were out of state, and a resource to send other guys that were working on their own projects. Eventually I stumbled on to the H.A.M.B., a forum dedicated to traditional hot rods and customs. I began posting there and it soon took the place of my car blog as I made new friends and  integrated in to the community.
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Another Autorama has come and gone and for the second year in a row I spent all my time in the basement. As usual, Tim and Roger turned out another great batch of trophies. Twenty four in all and I striped every one of them for the show. Special thanks to the Road Devils, Detroit for the hospitality. They put in a ton of work on their cars for this show, and as a result their display was one of the best. Full of jealousy and inspiration now, I can’t wait to get back to work on my bike and my car. I hope this year I’ll be able to get my DeSoto grille in and finish off the airbag setup. We’ll see about that.

Man, have I been busy! The Peoples’ Art Festival at Russel Industrial was great! Tons of bands and art and a great turnout despite the last minute rescheduling. This was the second year for this show, and it keeps getting better. Not your usual “watercolor of a piece of driftwood” type art fair stuff. It’s all Detroit artists hawking original art. It’s got a very rock ‘n’ roll vibe. And if you ask me, that’s the only kind I need.

On October 29/30 I was in Chicago for the opening of Tura! Tura! Tura! at the Tattoo Factory Gallery. Curated by the one and only Mitch O’Connell, the show that paid homage to Tura Satana who starred in, among other things, the Russ Myers cult classic Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! I stayed with my pals from Detroit, talented artists in their own rights, Shayne Labadie and Brandon Garrison. To continue name-dropping, I hooked up with some more Detroit pals, legendary rock poster artist Mark Arminski, and Detroit fave Audrey Pongracz.

I got to meet Tura, and I gave her a print of the piece I had in the show. She was a lot of fun, real laid-back and funny. I even met the legendary Cynthia Plastercaster, and Hannah Aitchison from L.A. Ink. Although I didn’t really get to talk to either of them for more than a minute, they were both super nice. Like, in case you were wondering. Well, that’s all for now. See you around!

The People’s Arts Festival is this Saturday, September 13th, at Russel Industrial Complex in Detroit. There are 3 stages of bands all day, and hundreds of artists. Over a hundred anyway. This is the second year of the Festival, and if last year was any indication, this is going to be a blast. I will have my newest print available this weekend: Caprice. This print is on a heavy art paper, signed, numbered, and in limited edition of 50.

Also, I have new work in a show at River’s Edge Gallery. It opens September 19th and I’ll be there along with all the other artists.

I’m really stoked about a show in October in Chicago. It’s a tribute show about actress Tura Satana of Faster Pussycat Kill Kill fame. It’s curated by Mitch O’Connel and it has an all-star roster. More info on that when I get it. I know it opens Oct. 30. Oh yeah, and if you’re in Ypsilanti in the next couple weeks, I have work up at the Screaming Eagle through September.

The Lincolns UK are playing with Run Run Run form LA at The Belmont on October 17th, and I should have an announcement about a legendary Detroit band that I’ll be doing some shows with but I don’t want to jinx it so I’ll wait ’til there are shows booked to talk more about it. That’s it for now, see you out in the wild.

I have an opening this Saturday from 7-10 and I’d love to see you all there! It’s at Tasi in Royal Oak [map]. The show runs for a month and features paintings, brush and ink work, and prints.

Click on the litlle flyer on the right for more details. Be sure to read the part where they call my paintings “masterful”!