You’ve likely heard the recommendation to “buy art from a living artist because the dead ones don’t need the money.”
The Automotive Fine Arts Society likely agrees with that philosophy, and suggests you consider the work of its member artists when you do your shopping for Father’s Day 2017.
Founded in 1984 by artists and sculptors who specialize in automotive subjects, the society has expanded from its half-dozen founding members to its current roster of 32. Since 1986, the group has staged an annual exhibition adjacent to the 18th fairway during the Pebble Beach concours d’elegance.
You can go to the society’s website to learn more, and to find links to its various members and their work, but we’re also presenting some examples that we’d eagerly accept should our children be so inclined:
Blue Ford GT bench by Dave Chappel
It may be hard to get the proper perspective in just two dimensions, but this image of a Ford GT is a five-foot-long bench by Dave Chappel, hand-painted in acrylic on wood and clear-coated so you actually might consider sitting on it.
Ribbon Candy wall sculpture by Dave Chappel
If you’d prefer your Chappel hanging on the wall, consider this Ribbon Candy sculpture of a 1970 Porsche 917K that measures 22 X 20.
Howlin’ Wolf, Cadillac Blues by Stanley Rose
Chester Arthur Burnett, aka Howlin’ Wolf, was a blues singer who was born in Mississippi and became famous in Chicago. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as one of the genre’s early influencers. Among the songs he recorded was his 1952 rendition of “Cadillac Daddy (Mr. Highway Man).”
To the Victor by Jim Dietz
A 30 x 40 oil on canvas painting
Orange Crush sculpture by Tony Sikorski
Sikorski does one-of-one wood and stainless sculptures that generally are around two feet in length. He also does all-wood sculptures that are smaller, can be rolled across the floor, priced in only double figures, and thus are designed so a child (or adult) might play with them, albeit carefully.
Untitled sculpture by Tony Sikorski
This wood-on-stainless sculpture is Sikorski’s artistic interpretation of a woodie wagon.
Old Yeller by Dennis Brown
A 21-inch by 21-inch acrylic painting on board captures the spirit of the early days of automotive competition.
Summer Fun by Dennis Brown
Brown’s depiction of racers hauling their open-wheel car to the track.
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.