Scott Fisk, Car artist and Car-tooner

The artists and illustrators I’ve featured on MyRideisMe.com all are super talented and I could easily recommend them. In talking and getting to know them, I’m seeing a trend in the people that make art, especially car art, their living. In talking with Scott Fisk from Studio 669 and CAR-TOONER.com, I’ve found some of the same important features I see in Brian Stupski from Problemchildkustoms.com and from Jimmy Smith from Jimmyshotroddesign.com and it’s my suggestion you look for these 2 qualities in your next artist:

A true passion for all things cars.

A unique style they’re proud to use.

I think you’ll hear these qualities loud and clear after reading my talk with Scott Fisk.

Scott gave me his regular bio for starters. Like many other car artist, he’s been drawing his whole life finding inspiration from rod magazines and one of his instructors while getting his Fine Art degree in Signage and Graphic design in Boston. Struggling through college, Scott recalls drawing for drinks on cocktails napkins. He says, “I was good for about 3 drawings, then the quality started to go down hill, but the people loved it… so hey, way cool!” What great artist doesn’t know pain like that?

From their, I ask Scott a few questions and here’s what he said.

How do you choose the cars you draw?
….sometimes I pull them right out of a magazine..seriously..yet sometimes I just want to draw a particular “specimen” so I’ll google some pics for reference and go from there, but I always put my own spin on them… Once I had an editor call me and tell me that he had 2 features in an upcoming issue: a shoebox and a willys prostreet… Would I be able to get the artwork together in time to go along with the actual pics of the cars for that issue? What kind of time do i have?” I asked. “4 days” was his response. I got 2 ref pics of each to go by, that was it, and the end result was Feb. 08 issue of Rodder’s Digest with the illustration called “Shoebox-Willy”. The editor was tickled! He never had an artist smash something out in 4 days.. no egos here, get it DONE..page time is page time.

What was your first car?
…my first car was a TRUCK and it was GORGEOUS!.. this bad boy was a 1969 Chevy C/10 p/u.. 6 foot step side… 3 “on the tree” had a bad ass 8-track deck with 1 working speaker… wool blanket for a seat cover (that was before Mexican blankets became all the rage) it’s power plant was a mighty 292… I could pop the hood, sit on the inside of the fender well and change the plugs with ease (it was always fouling them out)… could work up a mighty sweat doing a 3 point turnaround since there was no power steering..thank god the steering wheel was 18″ around.
What do I drive now?..have a small handful… my daily is a dub (I’m a dubber to the core) also have a 90 fox wagon, have had it for the past 10 years, already gave it to my son (he’s 9)..should be a killer 25 year old ride by the time he’s behind the wheel…my last is the “ruby lounge” which is a work in progress..it’s a 1964 Olds dynamic 88…330 rocket, 2 barrel carb..Mexican blanket seat covers..YA BABY!

You said drawing “car-toons” so much fun, why?
Car-toons first bit me with the magazine, but the first artist that REALLY bit me was Lance Sorchick..this kat has some killer flow..lines always dynamic always deliberate..always “zooming”..like his stuff, but won’t copy his flow, dig?…I have done piles of “formal” renderings like the kind you find with Chip Foose..but it ain’t often that your average guy off the street can afford a 1500 plus rendering. So I do this dress down “fun” style where real people can afford ORIGINAL art..not a poster, not a likeness..but the REAL DEAL. This “car-toon” style allows me to do just that..I want to be the guy that draws for real people..there are no egos here, egos get left at the door in “my house”..if you have an ego that needs feeding?, I may not be the artist you’re looking for, but not just “car-toons” flow out of my studio. I also have my fingers inside of 5 different kulture clothing lines, my own 669 line of shirts as well as piles of tattoo flash..ya, you heard right…tattoo flash..ever want a 1-off tattoo just for you?..hit me up or even find my compilations @ kingpin tattoo. 3 artist flash books out as well through kingpin and poster bomb. I have also had the pleasure of working with Hasbro toys, Gennie shifter/Streamline Hot Rods and the U. S. gov’t (which is all classified, sorry) doing conceptual artwork for their applications. so nope, not just “car-toons”…

If you weren’t an artist what would you be?
Don’t even ask that question… I was put on this planet to be just this..an artist..was never about the money, that doesn’t drive me in the least..just need what I need to live.. and have fun along the way. take away my pencils, you may as well stick me in the looney bin. most important, it flows from my finger tips..”ol’ skool”..as time goes on there will be 5 gazillion graphic artists and a small handful of “ol’ skoolers”..that’s where I want to be, in the small handful. People search me out for my left handed finger tips, not the adobe generated prints. it’s kept me in pretty good demand for the past 3 years..let’s shoot for another 30, shall we?

With that, I’ll leave you a few select drawings from Car-tooner.com and Scott Fisk. If you ever see him at a show, say hi, you’ll be glad you did. And when you see first hand his passion for cars, maybe he’ll end up sketching for you too.

(all pictures with permission from Scott Fisk)

George Trosley: Krass and Bernie Visit the Garage

If you have ever been to a large auto swap meet with commercial vendors or flipped through a car catalog that offers automobile collectibles for sale, then you’ve probably seen the art of George Trosley (Troz). Troz started his career the traditional way by attending Hussian School of Commercial Art in Philadelphia, PA. After schooling, he landed several well paying commercial jobs working for various studios. But Troz felt that something was missing in his life. Illustrating commercial products was boring and tedious. Taking a big chance in 1973, he threw it all away to chase his dream of becoming a freelance cartoonist. He soon began drawing for CARtoons magazine where he would later create a couple of the best loved characters of the magazine known as Krass and Bernie. Originally Troz wanted to name them “Crash and Burn” which were the nicknames for his brother and himself growing up. They received the nicknames from all their crazy mini-bike and go-cart stunts.

Being the hard worker that he is, Troz refers to himself as an “art prostitute”; he is not scared to draw anything for anybody. His work has appeared in a variety of magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Saturday Review, National Enquirer, and New Woman. But he is best known for his car related cartoons in magazines like Car Craft and Street Trucks plus his regular cartoon appearances in Hustler magazine. Because, as Troz says, “Girls and Cars. What else is there?” Troz has branched out from magazines now and you can find his art on everything from t-shirts to signs. You can even get old Krass and Bernie cartoons and How to Draw CARtoon Cars on CD. One of the things I really love about Troz is he will also create a cartoon of your ride any way you want it and for a reasonable price. He has drawn several for me already and each one is better than the last! Be sure to visit his website (http://www.georgetrosley.com) for information on all his great stuff.

But Troz doesn’t just draw cars, he drives them. His current ride is a ’39 Ford Sedan. It is powered by a 400 Chevy Small block pushing an automatic transmission and a 9” Ford rear. Up front is a Mustang II front suspension setup. Topping it off with a killer Alpine sound system makes this car a real cruiser.

Want to hear George Trosley tell many of his humorous stories about starting out? Check out the 7/13/2008 podcast from “The Mighty Sabo … and Son!” on Talk Shoe.

Written by Bubba Harmon (bubbastoybox).

Photos and artwork provided by George Trosley and used with permission.

Boatman’s Best CARtoons

When you’re a new website, the only advertising you can afford is FREE advertising. So, I am combing Myspace for other gearheads who might be interested in sharing their passions here at MyRideisMe.com.

After navigating past all the, “Click here for my REAL profile…” and all the other scam BS, I found some worthwhile profiles, especially this one from Fred Boatman.

From 1962 to 1976 Fred published his car art in several Petersen Publishing magazines, especially one I remember called CARtoons.

After a few emails, Fred and I talked on the phone and I learned more about the man and his book: Cartoons on Wheels. Fred’s book explains why he wrote the book for his four grown kids:

I would like them to know just what I was doing in my basement studio those evenings I wasn’t helping them with their homework, or playing hockey with them in the driveway. I wasn’t just down there nursing a Wild Turkey and Ginger,… well maybe just a few.

I’ve enjoyed reading the book Fred sent to me. It’s like a time capsule of hot rodding and American history. The characters such as my favorites Dipstick & Arin Cee are worried about hot rods, racing and girls along with war and their possible time in the military service. It just feels like a simpler time where the closest thing to Nintendo was a slot car track and even a local guy had a shot at big time racers like Connie Kalitta.

I recommend this book to young and old who might like to take a step back in time. Fred will personally sign a copy just like he did for me. Mine’s going to Brian from Problem Child Kustoms to thank him for all the help he’s given to MyRideisMe. To get your copy, you can find them at all the big bookstores, but do Fred a heavy (and cut out the middle man…) and buy it directly from his website: Fred Boatman Cartoons. Until then, I’ll share just a few more of my favorites from the book. The book is 305 8 1/2 x 11″ pages of good times, so there are plenty to choose from. If you see something you like, get your own!

Thanks Fred! I hope this give the book a little boost. It’s been great meeting you. Do you know some other sources of good CARtoon works? Please let me know!

---

Looking for other auto books or DVD’s? Check out the MyRideisMe.com Amazon store. We did the searching for you!

---