ABOUT THE ARTIST
AS a child of the fifties, I was naturally
interested in cars, and anything else with wheels. I grew
up, the son of a famous tap dancer, and spent my first
dozen years tap dancing in many stage shows. It was a
great childhood, and I got my first taste of 'show biz'
at an early age. When I turned 16, my Dad bought me my
first car; a 1950 Plymouth fastback coupe. I nosed and
decked it, lowered and customized it, put dual pipes on
it, and thought it was the 'coolest' car on the road.
It was the beginning of a 'love affair' with automobiles
that has lasted over 40 years. In the beginning, I would
work weekends and all summer long to earn enough money
to buy my next 'project'. I owned some beauties; starting
with a '56 Chevy Belaire and two '57 Chevy Belaire 2 door
hardtops. In those days, my Dad owned a Chrysler dealership,
and I would lock myself up in the building at night, and
spend all night sanding, masking, and painting my cars
to become custom masterpieces. My custom painting and
pinstriping began, here.
Over the years, I have worn many ''hats''
and worked at many occupations, but the creative juices
of art and painting have outlasted everything else. I've
been an entertainer/musician in Vegas, Tahoe, Reno and
up and down the west coast; I've sold Insurance, automobiles,
magazines, collections and martini's; I've worked for
Fortune Companies and represented the largest security
company in the world; but I still enjoy the creativity
of ….free hand pinstriping!
During the years '65 through '67, I served
in the U.S Army as an NCO combat medic in Vietnam. The
war was still in it's infancy and everyone involved just
wanted to get back home alive. It was an 'unpopular' war,
and the country as a whole, was not in our corner. As
soldiers in a foreign land, we could never understand
why we didn't have the support of the American people.
After 11 months on the line, I managed to get a transfer
to Special Services, where I was promoted to NCO in charge
of Entertainment for the 9th Division. I spent my last
two months organizing soldier shows for the European tour
circuit, arranging transportation for visiting celebrities,
and personally handled all the logistics for the Charlton
Heston handshake tour, the mini version of "Hello
Dolly" from Broadway starring Martha Ray, and the
annual Christmas tour for Bob Hope. It was my last official
act while 'in country'. While I was there, I was awarded
the Bronze Star for Valor, The Army Commendation Medal,
The Combat Medics Badge, and the Silver Star. I received
an honorable discharge. During the following 8 years,
I was an entertainer/musician in various Las Vegas, Tahoe,
and Reno show groups; traveling up and down the West coast
playing drums with various show and Rock groups. I will
always remember the thrill of creating great music with
so many talented friends. Times were simpler then, life
was fun and simple, and music was an important aspect
of my life. It has always been my favorite occupation.
It was NEVER a job.
For over 20 years, I was one of the ''Top Guns" of
the striping business in the Bay area of S.F. I've painted
nearly 21,000 cars and have enjoyed working for the top
auto producers and dealerships in the world. Mercedes,
BMW, Infiniti, Acura, Cadillac, Jaguar, Rolls Royce, Lincoln,
Volvo, GMC and many more were among my 'masterpieces';
and it was great to see them rolling down the roads and
highways of California, everyday. I've worked for many
celebrities including many of the San Francisco Forty
Niners, many Silicon valley executives such as Steve Wozniak
of Apple Computers, Plastic Surgeons, College Professors,
and many others.
In 1997, I decided to move to Phoenix, AZ.,
and begin a new phase of my life, continuing to pinstripe
and custom paint automobiles for dealers and private owners.
Again, I got the chance to meet some very interesting
people who desired my talents on their cars. It was a
great surprise one time, when I was asked to make a 'house
call' to a client for the local Infiniti dealer. When
the door opened, there stood Bruce Devlin, one of my golf
heroes. It was a 'house call' that lasted all day, as
we talked golf, other hero's of mine who were friends
of his, and pinstriping, too.
The art of pinstriping is truly God given,
and something you just don't learn from a book. It has
to come from a natural born talent, and then be practiced
and perfected until it comes to life on a 'canvas' of
metal. It has been my "ten minutes of fame"…but
has really been all about creating art for the enjoyment
of others. Although I've been featured on the front page
of a newspaper, had a film produced about me at Stanford
University, and have been mentioned in several hot rod
magazines, I simply wanted to make my 'mark' by leaving
the world a little better with some beauty of my own design.
Little did I realize that when I asked a
guy to stripe my '56 Chevy those many years ago, that
I would follow his lead by buying my own brush and paint,
and turn it into a lifetime business. I hope I still have
a few good years left in me to create more ''works of
art'' for those who care about quality.
I've always had a creed and belief about
my craft and the way I treat my clients: " Give the
customer MORE than he pays for, and he will ALWAYS be
your customer!" It works.
