Metal sculpting for SEMA—Derelicts and Hellcats

The last month has been a blur as I’ve kept the pedal to the metal to prepare for this year’s SEMA Show. For those wondering, SEMA is the top automotive tradeshow in the world. I feel honored to be one of the seven artists invited participate in the show’s first Art Walk. I’ll be alongside Ed Tillrock, Tom Fritz, Bomonster, Daniel Brown, Keith Weesner, and Max Grundy — a pretty select group.

Being out of action for a year because of hand surgeries has put me behind the 8 ball for getting new pieces ready to display. Until a month ago I wasn’t really sure how much I’d be able to get ready. But over the last few weeks I’ve felt well enough to create again, and motivation in the form of SEMA and some exciting new work have helped to gloss over the physical pain.

Two of the pieces are the direct result of a call I recently received from ICON’s mastermind, Jonathan Ward. For those unfamiliar with the name, check out www.Icon4x4.com. Classic styling with modern underpinnings built to world-class standards is the Los Angeles-based company’s calling card.

One of Jonathan’s recent projects has been to join perfectly weathered vintage bodies with cutting-edge drive trains and chassis — vehicles you can drive anywhere, look cool doing it, and not worry about a scratch or dent, because the car already has plenty of them. He calls them Derelicts.

Mr. Ward’s personal car is a ’52 Chrysler DeSoto wagon. A Town & Country with a DeSoto front end, it sits on an Art Morrison chassis and is powered by a 2010 Dodge Charger R/T drive train. The car itself has a sculpted look to it, and I had a blast crafting my take on it into metal. It’s the first piece that I experimented on using old painted panels for the body, as well as the first automotive sculpture I’ve done in almost a year and a half. I try to evolve with every project, but along my path as an artist, certain pieces mark a giant leap forward either in concept or execution, and I think this was one.

The second Derelict that I tackled was a 1948 Buick Super convertible. The ICON-built car again sits on an Art Morrison chassis, but this one is pushed by a ZR1 Corvette-sourced LS9, a supercharged monster putting out around 600 HP.

The challenge for me was nailing the voluptuous car’s curves and bodylines while using metal with age-faded paint sourced from an old Plymouth Satellite.

I don’t use any fancy metal shaping equipment, just some dollies made from old junk, hammers, vise grips, and a recently acquired Trenton anvil. It’s not so much about the material you start with or the tools you use, but rather using whatever you’ve got to the best of your abilities. This one was a challenge, but in the end the results were well worth the effort.

In between the Derelicts, I hammered out a ’50 GMC COE based on Max Grundy’s Chevy COE built for this year’s SEMA Show. His truck is a cool flatbed dually with a one-off PAC Racing suspension, and it’ll be on display in the Art Walk. (I actually welded the massive control arms for the truck, and I’ll be writing about that in a future blog.) My version turns the beast into a welding rig complete with an oversized Miller Trailblazer 325.

I also just finished a motorcycle sculpture based on Confederate Motorcycle’s Hellcat. It’s one of three bike sculptures a U.K.-based collector commissioned, and the hope is that at least two of the three will be with me at the show.

Derelict 1952 Chrysler DeSoto
Photo courtesy of Brown Dog Welding

While the larger automotive pieces take a couple of days to build, and I enjoy challenging myself with them, it’s always nice to come back to a motorcycle build. There’s something to be said for the instant satisfaction that comes from seeing a piece through from start to finish in a day, at least for my impatient brain.

So if you’re in Las Vegas for SEMA the first week in November, be sure to stop by and say hi, talk shop, and check out some of my work. We will be set up in the Skybridge between the Central and South Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Can’t wait!

Slide Show | 24 Images