Artist Statement

Wooden buck, 1970 Ferrari 512S Modulo concept by Pininfarina

Celebrating Human Achievement in Automotive Design

My work celebrates human achievement in the realm of the automobile, from the design, engineering, and craftsmanship, to the power, finesse, communication, and handling of the finished vehicles, to the cultural heritage the vehicles embody. 

I love creating art in celebration of legendary cars and their ability to expand our experience of the world and ourselves. To me these cars are mobile manifestations of our collective collaboration and vision, that give us the feeling of being most vividly alive. 

I view the drawings I create as mirrors of the best humanity has to offer. We have made machines so profound that they remake us. 

1963 Facel Vega interior, 

1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio 
 

1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing 

Where Does my Work Fit in a Historical Context?

I view my work as being most closely associated with an offshoot of American modernism that emerged in the late 1920s and early 1930s known as Precisionism. Precisionist artists reduced their subjects to essential geometric shapes, reduced detail, and often used planes of light to create a sense of crisp focus that suggested the sleekness and sheen of machine forms. “American Landscape” by Charles Sheeler typifies this style of painting.

While I feel compelled to look honestly at all that industrialization has offered, my work feels to me like an extension of this movement. 

American Landscape, Charles Sheeler, 1930

Drawing Style

I work exclusively with hard-edged, flat planes of color and draw cars from a very low angle, as if we are seeing them eye-to-eye, as if we and they are equals. That these blocks of color work together in the viewer’s mind to recreate the smooth, flowing lines of a vintage automobile is, to me, where the magic happens. 

These are idealized portraits in which I aim to depict automobiles in their purest, iconic states, to capture their essential essence on paper, to convey the spark of why they move us in more ways than one.

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO drawing in progress

I work from photographic references, building, and layering drawing, roughing in the basic shapes and then developing the details. I then go through many rounds of proofing to make sure the drawing is correct. Then it’s on to press checking to make sure the colors in the print are as close to perfect as we can get. Then we begin the print run! My goal is to create a piece of art worthy of the car itself. 

Influences

I’m so grateful for those whose work has been an inspiration. Among them are: A.M. Cassandre, Dieter Rams, Otl Aicher, Saul Bass, Joe Colombo, Richard Sapper, Bruno Sacco, Massimo Vignelli, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Josef Müller-Brockman, Charles and Ray Eames, Henry Dreyfuss, Chris Ware, and Frank Lloyd Wright.