THE RAT ROD BEAUTIFULLY BEAT TO HELL

18 × 24 · Acrylic + Colored Pencil · Illustration Board

Rust, scars, bullet holes, mismatched parts - the imperfections were the whole point.

About the Artist

Studio Note

IMPERFECTION BUILT IN

Rat rods make sense to me. Rust, dents, bullet holes, mismatched parts, rough edges - all the things that would normally count as damage are exactly what give them character.

There’s an honesty to them. Nothing is trying too hard to look finished.

That made the subject a natural fit for the way I was working at the time: fast, layered, a little rough around the edges, and comfortable leaving some of the drawing and surface visible.

MATERIALS NOTE

This piece was made during the period when I was still using heavily gessoed, double-thick illustration board for this process. I eventually moved almost entirely to hardboard, which gave me a more rigid surface while keeping the same basic drawing, airbrush, and colored-pencil approach.

The Method

DRAW. AIRBRUSH. PENCIL.

Surface

Heavy Gessoed Board

Heavy gesso over double-thick illustration board. This was before I moved most of this kind of work over to hardboard.

Drawing

Pencil First

The entire piece started as a full pencil drawing, establishing the structure and detail before any paint hit the board.

Paint

Airbrushed Acrylic

Acrylic was airbrushed over the drawing, building the color and form while allowing some of that original drawing to remain part of the finished piece.

Finish

Colored Pencil

Colored pencil went back over the acrylic to sharpen edges, add texture, and finish the details. Brutally fast, direct, and heavily Struzan-inspired.

Process + Details

THE RAT ROD

Closing Thoughts

THE RAT ROD IS AVAILABLE

The original Rat Rod is available. An 18 × 24 acrylic and colored pencil illustration on heavily gessoed illustration board — rust, scars, bullet holes and all.

INQUIRE ABOUT THE ORIGINAL