THE MANY WORKS OF
By Annabel Sherwood
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Art Himsl is not one to follow trends. Ever since he began customizing cars at the age of 15, Himsl has laid down his own tracks, getting ideas from other painters along the way, but always traveling in his own direction.
The busy artist takes a break in between painting projects. After over 40 years of building award-winning show cars and composing stripes, flames and graphics on customs, the legendary artist continues to paint on an appointment-only basis from his acre and a half of property in Bay-area Concord, Calif.
Himsl has a schedule many people would envy-he wakes up, walks past the pool to his shop, and goes to work. Countless hours are spent tinkering with model trains, or gracing the latest hot rod with a stunning paint job often at three or four in the morning, when there are no distractions.
His favorite jobs are anything he hasn't done before, which is a tall order, considering he's painted everything from off-shore boats to airplanes. Then again, Himsl approaches every job as being unique. Over the years, his name has become synonymous with elegant lines and dramatic fade-aways creations of a boundless imagination.
As the self-proclaimed "biggest kid" he knows, the ingenious artist's main inspiration has always been the enjoyment his original designs give to his customers, and the fun he has dreaming them up.
SETTING HIS OWN PACE
Although he tries to limit the amount of outside work he takes in, Himsl finds it hard to refuse new or unusual challenges.
At some point early in his teenage years, Himsl picked up a brush
and discovered a hobby that would become a lifelong craft. He immediately
began studying Von Dutch stripes in custom car magazines and figuring
out how the paint flowed.
The industrious teen held three jobs in high school - at a body
shop, a newspaper, and his own part-time pinstriping business.
The money he saved fueled his fascination with hot rods and customs.
In fact, Himsl was the only kid in his class to graduate with three
cars and four motorcycles.
Among his influences, he counts such custom greats as Von Dutch,
Ed Roth, Bill Reasoner, Kenny Youngblood, Steve Stanford and Thom
Taylor. However, he also adds that every artist in the trade affects
his work to some degree. "Every job you see influences you,
there's no two ways about it. Everything you see is an idea-you
take a little piece of this and a little piece of that, whether
you realize it or not," says Himsl.
Most of his artistic skills were developed through this kind of
observation. With the exception of a few color theory and design
classes at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland,
Calif., Himsl is self-taught.
His nine-to-five work experience consists of a handful of body
shop jobs and a two year stint as a paint shop manager at Danville,
Calif.-based Aerojet. In 1963, he left the workaday world to open
his own custom painting business. In no time at all, he moved the
booming enterprise into a larger shop in downtown Concord.
As if tackling a workload that included several Oakland Roadster
Show winners wasn't enough, the untiring artist also spent a few
years as a show promoter. He started the first Northern California
Custom Bikes show in Concord, and organized 11 other rod, custom,
and bike shows over the next five years.
Along came the van craze of the '70s. At that point, Himsl and
his eight employees were customizing about 40 vans a week. "I
burned out on doing volume business real quick," he says.
After several years of non-stop work, Himsl closed the shop, rented
out the building and became retired. ("If you want to call
it that," he says.)
Ever since the early '80s, he has worked at a relaxed pace, with
flexible deadlines. His approach to each project is to constantly
try different techniques, giving familiar styles a new bend or
twist. "The whole thing is that a lot of people will follow
trends, or they'll find something people like and do the same thing
over and over. I've always felt just the opposite-don't follow
trends, set trends. It works a lot better," he says.
An example of his experience with trends is the time he was at
the Oakland show in '67. Everybody told him, "flames are out,
you don't want to do that." Nevertheless, he entered three
flamed cars and could barely keep up with the work after the show-all
flame jobs.
Thankfully, Himsl finds that custom painting isn't quite so trendy
these days. "It's great because anything you do is in now,
as long as it's done well and in good taste, it's acceptable," he
says.
Among the various changes in the custom painting industry over
the years, Himsl notes the increased camaraderie between painters.
From day one, his attitude has been that there is plenty of work
out there for every artist. "It's like I always used to say,
'If a customer likes my style, he'll come to me. If he likes what
you do, he'll go to you,'" he explains.
In keeping with this attitude, Himsl is quick to assist other painters. "I'll
help anybody that needs help. It doesn't bother me a bit. I wish
somebody would've been there that I could've called."
In addition to giving advice over the phone, Himsl often lends
a hand at custom shows, rubbing down a car or helping set up a
booth at the last minute. Although he doesn't actually work at
the shows, Himsl can often be found at rod and custom events in
Oakland, Portland, Sacramento, Reno and all over Northern California. "I
enjoy going to shows because they give me the chance to talk to
people I haven't seen in a year," he says.
Attending shows also gives him new ideas and reaffirms his belief
that the business of custom painting will prosper well into the
future. "Before, I thought this whole thing was going to die
out. But I go to some of these events and itÕs not slowing
down at all-it's multiplying."
According to Himsl, much of this increasing popularity has to do
with the resurgence of retro styles. The majority of his clients
fall between the ages of 35 and 60; they are the people who always
wanted a hot rod or custom car when they were in school, but couldn't
afford it. Now, they're settled, the kids are gone, and they've
got the money to indulge in one.
"Most people I paint for end up being my friends," says Himsl. Since
he's fairly selective about the jobs he takes, he likes to get to know the individual
before painting their vehicle. "I want to meet the person and talk to them,
so I know who they are and what they're about. I pattern the paint to match the
person," he explains.
TOY STORY
Himsl
tries to limit the work he takes on so he can devote time
to pet projects. Delving into the world of computer design,
for instance. He recently purchased a plotter and software
for his PC, and is eager to start producing paint-through
stencils with vinyl. "The computer can cut designs
that you couldn't possibly make by hand. It opens up a
whole new world as far as what you can do," he says.
In between designing stencils, Himsl would like to finish working
on the unusual motorhome he's had for 22 years. Manufactured in 1942,
The Roadliner is a streamlined road-blimp that was slated to go into
production before World War II. Due to the shortage of materials
during the war, only one was ever made. Himsl's already built a Chevy
chassis for it, and hopes to add the finishing touches one of these
days.
Topping off his list of what he calls his "toys," is a
scale model of a live steam locomotive. It's on a 1" to a 1'
scale, with a four-foot-long engine. Eventually, Himsl plans to put
some track down around his house and take it for a ride.
Getting around to working on these endeavors is Himsl's biggest challenge. "I've
got so many people that want paint done and I have a hard time saying
no, because I get all enthused about it and then my projects don't
seem to get finished," he says.
Beyond finding time for his own creative efforts, Himsl intends to
keep on painting, developing his model train and airplane collection
and enjoying his retirement. As he says, "I don't see any changes
in the future, other than just doing what I'm doing and playing with
some of these toys of my own."
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| ART HIMSL |
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| Art Himsl with one of his fine paint jobs. |
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| Mickey, Art and Joe Himsl posing with the Mod Rod/Painter's Bucket. |
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| Art Himsl Links |
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