Car Art in Man Cave Garage

We have a number of clients that are creating man caves in the house and, even more often now, in the "garage." Here is one we had a chance to visit recently and see for our selves. Big thanks to Tim for giving us the grand tour. He has a really cool, eclectic collection of cars and a garage space to suit.

This summer  he opened his property to the public to host a car show with proceeds going to prostrate cancer. Due to a scheduling conflict we couldn't make it this year, but hope to for 2012. I'll post more info as it becomes available. In the mean time, here are a few pics of this set up.

Viper Gallery Edition Canvas, "Dry Lake Snakes,"  (bottom right) still wrapped,
ready to hang with the other Michael Irvine Mopar canvases.

Tim likes the Gallery Edition Canvases because he can hang them high
 and still enjoy the details. Giving him more "space to hang stuff!"
 I like the way he has them arranged ... two horizontals bookended by
two verticals.

Along with the art, Tim has an incredible collection of diecasts, models,
and Viper magazine cover (along with the customized car!)

In the background, Michael and Tim. Under the car
cover ... Reggie Jackson's burnt (now rebuilt) Challenger.

I took the photographs with my phone (forgot the camera at home), so they're not the best quality. But still, who can resist sneaking a peek into someone else's garage! — Linda

Easy Sugar Free Apple Bread

It can be a juggle sometimes; along with Michael's car art, there's the kids, the house, the cooking, the laundry, along with baking sugar free breads and cakes for my diabetic parents. With most of Michael's talented energy concentrated on the painting of the automotive watercolors (it is where he shines, after all), the rest pretty much falls to me. And, unlike some people, I am not a super mega multi-tasker!

In how we run our business, we take no short cuts — Michael takes so much time and puts so much into each and every painting, that the "business" end (which falls primarily to me) has to be reflective of those same high standards.

That is one of the reasons why, when I have to, I find ways to make household duties easier or quicker. There are, after all, only so many hours in a day. The recipe that follows, is one that started out as banana bread, originally published in 1987 in the Pillsbury Kitchens' Family Cookbook. I've modified it to suit our family's dietary needs. According to my parents, it's even better that my "World's Best Banana Bread".

I also like this recipe, because unlike many others you'll find, this one has ingredients which are pretty much a staple in most kitchens. And, the prep time is about 10 minutes!

Easy Sugar Free Apple Bread

2 cups Splenda Granular
2 cups apple sauce
   (no sugar added)
1 cup margarine,
   softened
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp nutmeg
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt (or "No Salt")
4 cups all purpose flour

Grease a bundt cake pan. Heat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, blend first 9 ingredients, beat 1 minute on medium speed. Add flour, mix well — I like to speed this up but using the mixer at low speed for about 1 minute. Pour into bundt pan. Viola, your part is pretty much done! Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan.

The apple sauce makes this a very moist bread. The cinnamon and nutmeg give it a rich flavor. As a bonus, it doesn't taste sugar free! If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. — Linda

Personalized Art: Custom Remarques

As you may already know, along with the Limited Edition car art prints that automotive fine artist Michael Irvine offers of his original watercolor paintings, he also releases 20 Artist Proofs with Custom Remarque. I've touched on these in previous posts (search Artist Proof on this blog) and there is a page on our website dedicated to these unique, personalized works: http://michaelirvine.com/automotivefineart/artistproofs.htm.

What makes them so unique, is that he paints (or draws) the Remarque on the Proof, as it is ordered. Each Remarque is done to order, per the client's wishes. It's a very inexpensive way to have a one-of-a-kind, done just for you! They are an excellent way to commemorate a special occasion, get your car "in a painting", honor a colleague, retiree, family member or friend. Or, to give yourself a little something!

Here are a couple of Michael's more recent ones. In the photos, rather than cropping right to the Remarque imags, I've left a bit of the painting image showing.

Remarque on "Shakin' Up The Street", featuring
2003-2004 Mach 1 Mustangs.

Remarque on "Bird Sanctuary", featuring the
Pontiac Trans Am, Firebird and Formula.

If you have any questions, please contact me at autoart@michaelirvine.com. As the holidays approach, the time is getting short for ordering an Artist Proof with Custom Remarque as a Christmas gift. However, there still is time. Place your order by December 12th, and you can have your Artist Proof under the tree!! — Linda

Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals 2011

The Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals in Chicago was a great event to round out our show year. Held indoors at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, it was a round up of some of the sweetest cars from across North America.

Originally created as a Corvette only, then Corvette and Chevy show, three years ago it evolved into the show it is today. It was really cool to see that many impressive cars all under one roof. With this year's show being the success it was, I can only imagine how it will grow in years to come. 

Here is just a taste of some of the cars we got to see up close and personal. I'll post more photos once I download them from our digital camera.

Look familiar? There's one just like it in "Bird Sanctuary".
There were actually 2 of these on the show floor!!

What view — that's our display in the back ground. We got
to look at a sea of Corvettes for the weekend!

Super rare barn find. Boss designer, Larry Shinoda's car.

Next year's Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals is already in the planning. Mark your calender (weekend before Thanksgiving) ... it's worth the trip. — Linda

SEMA 2011

We didn't make it to SEMA this year, but we have been there 3 times in the last 5 years. I found this article on the SpeedTV blog site ... as in the past, looks like there were pretty cool cars and accessories to check out! Including Richard Petty's Signature Series 2012 Mustang.

Too bad we couldn't attend this year, but at least Michael's work was on display there. Once again, Dots Gallery was on-site and open for business, offering a number of Michael's limited edition car prints. If you were lucky enough to go to SEMA this year, post some pics ... we'd love to see them! Thanks. — Linda

AUTOMOTIVE - PHOTOS: More SEMA Show Galleries

Electronic Pickpocketing: Drawbacks to a cashless society

At events like car shows and auctions, where we sell Michael's car art, we often get raised eyebrows over our use of the old, manual, credit card machine. Having had 3 of our own credit cards compromised during an 18month period, we have been, perhaps, overly protective. And we want to make extra sure that our clients' credit card information remains safe with us, thus, we've stayed away from the wireless terminals.

Now, it seems there are even more opportunities for theives to steal our credit information. Check out this little video about the latest kinds of "pickpockets." I, for one, am changing our credit cards to the "old school" variety. — Linda

Offensive technology Electronic Pickpocketing: Drawbacks to a cashless society

Steve Jobs - Words of Wisdom

“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
–  Steve Jobs

It seems that not only was Steve Jobs a visionary when it came to technology, but also in his view on life. I came across a website (Macstories), where they posted 60 quotes that were classic "Steve." I read through them, and have to agree with many of the commentators ... the quotes were funny, ironic, straightforward and ya, inspirational.

“Innovation distinguishes between
a leader and a follower.”
–  Steve Jobs, in via

Now, although I do use a Macintosh computer daily, I've never been a huge Apple follower. I chose to use Macs primarily due to my choice of career. As a graphic designer/creative consultant, I needed the equipment and software that met the "industry standards." And Macs were, and still are, 'it' as far as the graphics community goes.

I actually have both a PC and two Macs (an iMac and a MacBook), and have had several of both over my 25 year career as a designer. And although I'm not as heavily into design as I used to be, focusing instead on marketing and promoting Michael's work, I do still keep a couple of fingers in the pot. And, that's why I've stuck with the Macs. From my experience, they are pretty much problem free. I've never had a virus, or a major system failure. I have to tell you, that's worth it right there! About 5 years back we had a PC backup drive die in the morning, by that afternoon, the main drive had gone as well .... $2500 and 4 weeks later ... you get the picture (not pretty). Needless to say, I'm pretty loyal to the Mac when it comes to work.

That's why, even though I'm not an Apple junkie or even follower, really (I don't have an iPod, iPad, iPhone, etc), I was drawn to read up a bit on Steve Jobs. Who, agreeably, was an incredible visionary and creative genius.

Here are my two favorite quotes. The first one, because as the wife of an artist with Michael's drive and determination — never allowing me, or anyone else, to rush him through any of his paintings — it sums up Michael's commitment to his craft and style in a nutshell. And although we'd all like to see him paint faster (because we want to see more of his work), he'd rather only produce 3 or 4 great paintings in a year, than 6-8, what he would consider, second-rate ones. And I get that. He puts so much into each piece, he's not willing to do less than his best.

The second quote is along the same lines, be excellent in whatever you do, but goes beyond that in it's total message: Life is a gift. Make the most of it. Do what you love. And do it really, really well. (you can quote me!!). I think that says it all. — Linda

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
–  Steve Jobs, interview in Businessweek

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.” –  Steve Jobs, interview in Fortune

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011