Last May 25th we brought you a post on the 9th Annual Gasoline Alley Birthday Bash at Eldorado Park in North Las Vegas. We promised then to bring you more on the Awesome ‘54 Chevy 2-door hardtop we spied there. Today, we make good on that promise. This slammed metal masterpiece owned by Troy & Lois Summers is a real work of art with a ton of old skewl style and definitely worthy of a second look. After all, this kandy purple ride is chopped, channeled and extended with over 150 body modifications. Many are obvious - some more subtle. All are worth sharing.
In true Las Vegas style, dice ride proudly atop the dual recessed antennas. Pinstripe graphics are everywhere.
Looking down, cool pipes sit a mere fraction on an inch over the grass.
A cool mural adorns the spare tire cover in the back - airbrush art is credited to Barry Johnson.
Inside, beautiful paint, pinstripes, and lots of chrome make this ride stand out from the others. The fuzzy dice bring back memories of an era past.
The ultra-clean engine compartment features a balanced, bored and blue printed 350ci motor with lots of polished aluminum, stainless steel, chrome and anodized metals attached to a Turbo 400 automatic tranny.
Giving credit where credit is due. Great job everyone for putting together a cool ride, and for sharing.
Babes and Bikinis. I love my job. Syrup Swimwear hosts Good Fridays atTao Beach at The Venetian in Las Vegas where the lore of beautiful ladies always makes for a great time. Us, we’re here for research - ya, that’s it… research. We do this for you. This place rocks. Don’t take our word for it - stop in on Friday and judge for yourself.
The entire beauty industry comes together for a long weekend in Las Vegas to solidify business relationships, establish new connections and network in the sunny, energy-packed atmosphere exclusive to the glitz capital of the world. CosmoProf North America Las Vegas staged at Mandalay Bay, July 13-15, is the only all-encompassing business-to-business beauty trade show event in North America! Organized by product categories, there are four pavilions that cover the entire spectrum of the beauty industry including cosmetics, personal care, packaging, contract manufacturing & private label, spa & wellness, professional hair, nails & tools. This even showcases trends and newness from within all segments of the beauty industry with a global perspective on emerging trends.
We stopped in to catch up with Joanna Chin and Laura Morgan-Glass from Medea Beauty, down from Portland, Oregon to display their wares. Iwata has specialized and multi-purpose airbrushes for all endeavors in the world of beauty. For airbrush tanning, Laura recommends the high output of the Iwata Eclipse BCS, but the Iwata Revolution BCR is also good as it has the finest atomization in its price range.
Beauty experts Joanna and Laura were on hand to discuss all aspects of beauty as relates to the airbrush, nails and tanning.
Ikuko Saito from Anest Iwata was on hand to offer an international perspective.
Creativity made an hairy appearance, with her locks sculpted like a hat. This lovely model displays the magic of White Sands mega hold hairspray. Pretty cool stuff. A.D. takes pause with a lovely model with the wild doo - crazy, but we like it.
And who can resist a quick pic with the ECO girls? Here, A.D. takes pause to appreciate beauty.
Iwata Medea beauty… body art, cosmetics, nails and tanning. They got you covered. Progressive beauty professionals use airbrushes as a significant tool in their everyday work. In contemporary salons and spas, body spraying is in tremendous demand as Airbrush Sunless Tanning replaces harmful UV rays as the bronze of choice for modern, health conscious men and women.
And a nice little something for you guys. In this case beauty with wheels… an Audi TT on display from J Beverly Hills.
Every Saturday morning hundreds of proud drivers and local dedicated car lovers congregate to kick tires and enjoy a cup of coffee. Cars and Coffee™ Las Vegas launched June 14th, 2008 and is already a huge hit. We’re told the first show had over 250 cars and promises to grow as word of the ongoing event spreads throughout the community. Cars and Coffee™ Las Vegas is a weekly Saturday morning gathering of auto enthusiasts from 7:00am - 10:00am at 9500 S Eastern Ave. in the Sansone Park Place Shopping Center (215 and Eastern).
We stopped in this past Saturday (July 12), and despite pending rain, there was a worthwhile turnout of rolling art. I was informed this was a less-than-typical attendance because of gray skies and the forecast of pending showers, but there was plenty to see none-the-less. Classics, exotics, concepts, hot rods and motor-sport were all there for the viewing. And it’s all free, minus the coffee of course, which can be purchase at the nearby Einstein Bagels.
This patriotic beast sits proudly in front - standing guard and ready to rumble, these colors don’t run… they romp.
European exotics like these beautiful Ferraris were plentiful. There’s more inside Motorcars of Las Vegas too. No shortage of eye candy here.
This Ferrari Testarossa takes us back to a time when pastel clothes were cool and stubble was in. Say what you will, these beasts will always be cool.
…and this immaculate ‘57 Chevy 2 door hard top is no exception.
Corvettes are always welcome. In our book, there is no better examples of American muscle for the regular guy.
This Corvette is all fired up and ready to roll.
Speaking of Vettes… this ultra-modified silver ’60s monster has flair to spare.
A beautiful Challenger for you Mopar guys.
Nice. Takes me back to a time when muscle ruled the street. This is a beautiful ride in red that turns more than its share of heads.
Cobras galore. There were quite a few to view. Nothing brightens a gray day like going topless…
Just can’t get enough of these monsters.
Vegas is a big town for Cobra replicas with Shelby Automobiles just down the road.
It seems Cadillac Escalades are everywhere in Vegas. When it comes to big and cool, they rule this town - even in a $4.75 per gallon economy. With earth tone flames, swingin’ doors and and a rockin’ stereo system, this one is a step above the norm. What’s not to like? Ride well.
Vroooom. The plate says it all. Kind of gets you right there.
A very clean 1929 Ford Model A.
This fabulous Thunderbird is too cool. When it comes to classics of this era, the Ford T-Bird was in a class unto itself.
Got something cool? Show yours and share. The coffee is brewing and the crowd is great.
Take a good look. Remember Dan Langston. How can one forget the in-your-face graphics that he creates from his shop in American Fork, Utah? Answer… you can’t. This amazing creative talent will be around for a while. We have no doubt that you’ll be seeing a lot more of him and his beautiful airbrush work from here on out. After all, his ultra-unique airbrushed storytelling artwork is hard to ignore - and even harder to forget. We first discovered Dan’s art on a Harley-Davidson Street Glide we spied behind the Colorado Belle in Laughlin, NV at the 2008 Laughlin River Run. We were immediately taken with the details of his craft and loved his uniquely original approach to laying paint to metal.
Dan Langston tells us he has loved drawing for as long as he can remember. When he was 15, he went to an amusement park and stumbled upon an airbrush artist spraying beautiful artwork on T-shirts and license plates using a chrome “smokin’ pipe” as his brush! Fascinated, he asked question after question until the painter he asked him to leave. At that point Dan decided he needed an airbrush, so he figured the next logical step… (you guessed it) Santa.
Ever since that fateful Christmas Dan discovered it’s impossible to smoke from it, but it can make beautiful things. He couldn’t get enough of that airbrush. The story goes that friends could always find him huddled in the third bay of his parents garage attempting to create… well, anything and everything.
Through the years he drooled over the works of Craig Fraser, Terry Hill,Dru Blair and HR Giger. Later, Dan went to school for business and art, working job after job and painting whenever he could find time. Initially, he used Createx paints mainly due to cost and his lack of knowledge for the automotive paints. After working too long at a bronze casting hell-hole he decided he’d had enough, drove to his apartment and gathered everything he had painted. He later went to a body shop where he heard the owner had a custom painted Harley. Wanting to learn, he pleaded that he needed to learn the trade and would work for free if needed. It worked. He landed an amazingly sweet gig as the prep-boy and went from 14 bucks an hour to $7.25, but soaked up a plethora of knowledge in the process - mastering everything from sandpaper to polish. Working during the mornings and afternoons, then off to school until eight, and then back to the dark shop to practice ’til the wee hours. Before long, the boss let him throw some artwork on his new bike and word got around. In his moment of ‘awakening’ Dan says “I couldn’t get enough of learning, and trying and creating. Best thing about it was that people were paying me!”
“I had so much work lined up I had to go full-time on my own. I’ve had the business for about five years now. We’ve never had a lack of work, (knock on wood). It gets frustrating at times to meet deadlines instead of let new creativity flow. But I enjoy the projects where the client appreciates the art and allows me some artistic freedom. Mainly painting bikes, I originally had a hard time with the expectation of having that ‘biker’ edge with everything I painted. Many riders have a hard time committing to artwork that may not be “acceptable” to their friends if they haven’t seen it in a magazine. I since then found enjoyment in taking that need for skulls, crossbones and death (which always seems like a bad omen to me on a bike) and taking it to a deeper level of shock and possible disgust. I enjoy creating art that stirs up some emotion, rather than a stenciled skull or design. These skulls and designs can be gorgeous, and make up a lot of my business.”
“My real love however, is digging deeper, creating depth, and life (or death in some cases) I enjoy painting facial features, eyes especially. I’ve always had a fear of drowning, always. When I was told to “just make it crazy” on a springer some three years ago… I came up with the drowning-underwater theme. While painting it, I had a kind of sick feeling and knew I was on to something! I’ve done a few versions now of the drowning theme. The latest one (that was posted here from Laughlin 2008, was a “sink or swim” theme. The owner is a business tycoon and great guy. He struggled throughout his life and failed miserably and enjoyed great success. His bike, while weird and maybe gross at first glance, tells a personal story of him. It is riddled with meaningful Celtic symbols representing his life. His own face is on the left side of the tank. Pounding to escape the entrapment. He’s holding a locket of his wife who has been his strength. Me (Dan) and my brother (Dave) are on there. Anyway, as with many of my bikes, you could look for hours and hours and still find more and more hidden treasures telling a personal story of the owner. There have been occasion where the client has been less that courteous to me, I feel that situations like that must have consequence and if one looked hard enough, one may find a certain part of a male smiling back at you in a secret description of the owner. Almost every piece has some hidden objects. Clients know it, and it’s been kind of a fun gimmick to continue.”
“I use whatever I can get my hands on for products. Sherwin Williams U7000 for sealers and toners. I use the beautiful array of color from HOK at times and PPG global clears. I only use Iwata airbrushes. I mainly use the Eclipse. Then it’s Sata and Iwata guns for base and clear. We do everything in house from body repair, flush lights, body mods, up to the long, but needed process of full sand and polish.”
Check out the cool Frazetta inspired bike below.
“I love what I do. I’m grateful everyday for the opportunity to pay my bills while doing something I’d be doing as a hobby anyway! I’m trying to expand past simply the motorcycle world. I’m finishing a project now that is the wildest I’ve ever done. It’s on a custom build, and might be the still representation of Jackson Pollack meeting Stephen King, Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino and making another Grindhouse movie. I’m amazed at all the talented artists out there. I love seeing all the talent and different styles, it’s so inspiring. I always try to find time to try new things, to learn more and more about this endless industry.”
The photos below with all the ladies is a recently finished project for an out-of-state client;
“The client wanted it to be black widow themed…
…but the black widow was a woman (or any woman) who killed men during or with sex.”
“On the rear of the bike I had her pile of dead victims. Weird, but the webbing and the flowing two tone design tied it all together nicely.” We agree.
Pictured above… Dan and his wonderful wife Nicole.
This Week’s Pic comes courtesy of our buddy Charlie Brechtel at SturgisRiderLive.com. They, like us, are fans of the pretty girls atop custom painted Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Want more… visit their site. God bless America.
BTW - Charlie Brechtel’s birthday is Saturday July 12 - Happy Birthday Charlie!
We are way overdue for a MySpace Featured Artist, and everyone knows we’re suckers for pin-up art. Given that, we’re featuring the talented artworks of Steve Baier.
Dangerous Curves
Steve started learning airbrush in 1999 while attending Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Iowa. His first paying gig was drawing caricatures for Hollywood Caricatures at Adventureland Park in Des Moines. From 1999 through 2006, Steve continued to work as a caricaturist and also painted his share of t-shirts, plus some light illustration work. His first website was launched in 2004. But Steve’s real passion as an artist was not in any of these things; rather it was pin-up art. In his spare time, Steve would continue to develop his particular style of pin-up, combining airbrush with watercolor pencil, acrylics, metallic pen, colored pencil, and even found objects to produce the final result. In April 2007, Steve signed his first licensing contract with Up Your Art, LLC., and made the transition to full-time creator of original pin-up art.
Divine Providence
Steve’s paintings are a blend of the real and the imagined. The process always starts with conceptual drawings. Steve works with some professional models, such as Maxim’s 2006 Woman of the Year Monica Hansen and fitness model Dana Hamm, but also shoots his own reference photos with amateur models, and women who are not models at all. Steve does not work to re-create the photo; it is simply a point of reference and a foundation for the overall work. When the overall concept is worked out in pencil, the final drawing is transferred to the painting surface - usually cold-press watercolor paper, though cold press illustration board and even textured mat board are also used.
Life Can Be So Sweet
Steve has always favored Iwata airbrushes, though he has tried other brands. Most of the airbrush work in Steve’s current paintings is done with a Custom Micron SB, though the Eclipse SBS is still in use as well. Steve prefers Com-Art Airbrush Colours for rendering flesh, hair, and clothing and he does mix some custom colors from time to time.
Sweet Tooth
Backgrounds are painted mostly in acrylic, using foam brushes, sea sponges, or traditional paintbrushes. Accessories are often rendered in watercolor pencil, which makes for an interesting contrast, or metallic pen, which plays with the light.
The Sky Loves The Sea
You may have seen Steve’s work in someone’s comments section on MySpace. His paintings are very popular as licensed downloads, and are widely used by web graphics designers and hobbyists all over the world. Original paintings and reproductions are currently owned by collectors in 20 US States, as well as Canada, England, Australia, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Steve with The Queen
For more about this artist, please visit Steve’s official website: scbartworks.com and his official MySpace page. E-mail inquiries are always welcome, and can be sent to steve@scbartworks.com.
You never know when or where Bob Spina will surface. Recently, he stopped in at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country - the largest country night club in Las Vegas - to hear his friends Jason Michael Carroll, who Bob will tell you, is the hottest voice in country music.
Pictured above, left-to-right: Joe (drummer), Trey (guitar), Cathie (Bob’s beautiful lady), Jason Michael Carol and Jason (keyboards).
Trey, Jason Michael Carrol, Uncle Bob’s unnamed but clearly beautiful friend, and ‘Uncle Bob’ Spina.
Bob’s hat never looked this good. Say ‘Uncle’, er, we mean… nice hat.
Celebrating America’s 231st Birthday and share some good old fashioned American pride is part of what Independence Day weekend is all about. We think the shot above tells the story well. USA and proud of it!
This 1923 Ford Tribute T-Bucket is as about as patriotic as they come. We discovered it recently at the Freemont Street Experience Hot Rod Show and thought you might enjoy it too. Today seems to be a good day to share this one in particular.
Proud to be an American. The sign says it all. This rod is a tribute to all who served and continue to serve our great nation. Well done Tates.
Murals on each side…
…and a battleship scene on deck - these guys are always ready.
Nice embroidery work carries the theme of pride to the inside.
Learn more our Independence Day, like the words to our Pledge of America and the National Anthem (aka The Star Spangled Banner) along with fireworks safety, government resources and other useful stuff at usacitylink.com/USA
It’s Independence Day and definitely Summer. You say desert and sounds too hot - we say beach and even hotter. Tao Beach in Las Vegas that is. An icon of exotic exclusivity, TAO Beach rests atop the famous TAO Asian Bistro and Nightclub at the Venetian. This week’s Pic of The Week features three (yes, sadly only 3) beautiful ladies taking in the day. We’ll bring you more another time… maybe a “Post of the Week” (hmmmm - we like that). Until then, remember to wear sunscreen. Cheers.
…and God Bless America!
Learn more our Independence Day, like the words to our Pledge of America and the National Anthem (aka The Star Spangled Banner) along with fireworks safety, government resources and other useful stuff at usacitylink.com/USA
Our youngest artist yet makes his second appearance on AirbrushTour. Regular visitors may remember Michael (as Norm Gregg’s 14 month grandson) from our previous post “Never Too Young” last September. Michael is 2 now, and as you can see, he’s still slingin’ paint with his trusty Iwata airbrush.
We stopped in on the always busy Bob Spina Monday. Local motorcycle fans will like that his shop is packed with masked sheet metal and fiberglass, just days away from hitting the street as kewly customized Harleys. Still, we convinced him to take a few minutes and share his recent trip to Valencia, California, where he caught up with a few friends gathered for some quality time in the form of a Poison Pre-Tour Party.
Pictured above; Bob Spina, Cathie, Vicki Blue (accomplished filmmaker and former bass player with The Runaways, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, and many other noted bands), (click here for her MySpace page), country singer Melanie Martel (also Rikki’s fiance), and Rikki Rocket pause for a quick pic with Bob’s bike. (Note the airbrush Tiki Bob on the fairing)
Uncle Bob and Rikki Rocket (drummer for Poison) share a ride with a few friends aka The Brit Iron Rebels M/C.
With microphone in hand, Rikki auctioned off a panel that he personally pinstriped. Looks like he has the chops with a dagger as well as the sticks. The new lucky owner of the panel… Ken Potter, Vice President and General Manager, CarsDirect.com.
This great pic was sent to us from Ed Hubbs. The cool ride and beautiful lady were shot for the new Snap-On calendar. Ed painted this beast and we’re excited to share it with you here. Stay tuned for more on the car soon.
Our buddy (and unofficial midwest AirbrushTour correspondant) Noot just returned from 3 days in LaCrosse at the S&S 50th Show and Party. He sent us some pics for your viewing pleasure. And here’s what he had to say about the event… (above… Spina’s buddy “Tramp” with the original S&S Tribute Bike).
Most all the industry greats were on hand with builders from all over the world looking to win the $50,000 first prize for best build. The ‘Horse Backstreet Choppers’ magazine also had a separate show at the speedway. Both shows kicked ass!
Nice brushwork on the one.
Old, tired & ugly. Still looks good to us though - some nice old school airbrush.
Cool old school paint from the Horse Chopper Show.
Trevelen’s Panhead in white and light blue…
…with a nice old time paint scheme.
Paul Cox’s latest creation with big slick for traction.
Church of Choppers (build by Jeff Wright of Des Moines, Iowa) S&S Shovelhead.
AirbrushTour showcases all types of airbrush talent, along with other creative and artistic disciplines. We also share fun events and the latest happenings in the airbrush community and paint industries. As we travel, we bring talented artists' work and the events of Las Vegas-based artist and photographer A.D. Cook to you.
AirbrushTour also features posts about motorcycles and hot rods, and the events that surround them, and some great travel pics of exciting places from all over the USA, so come along and share with us in America's passion for airbrush art.
AirbrushTour is an ADCook LLC project (702) 875-5676
