Boss 429 Painting Officially Released

June is here, and along with what I consider the official start to the 2010 car show season, is the official release of Michael's latest automotive painting, featuring the 1969 and 1970 Boss 429, entitled "Boss Building."

We'll be showing it in person for the first time this weekend at the Fleetwood Country Cruizein in London, Ontario, while simultaneously, showing it at Ford Carlisle! Michael and I will be at Fleetwood, while our friend, Jim McDermott (Mac's Art & Automobile Collectibles), will be setting up on the Carlisle Fairgrounds in our usual spot (H1-HH1). He'll not only have the Limited Edition Prints of "Boss Building," but he'll also be showing one of the Gallery Edition Canvases. If your plans over the weekend, include a trip to Ford Carlisle, stop by and see Jim — tell him we sent you!

Also on-site at the Carlisle Fairgrounds, you can see one of Michael's other Gallery Edition Canvases, on display at the "Mustang Magazine" booth, by the Grandstand. "Mustang Magazine" will be holding a draw, and one lucky winner will walk away with the limited Gallery Edition Canvas of "Big Blocks Behind the Barn." Find out more, by visiting their blog.

Links of interest:

• "Boss Building"
• "Big Blocks Behind the Barn"
• Fleetwood Country Cruizein
• Ford Carlisle
• Jim McDermott
• Mustang Magazine

I think it will be a great weekend, no matter what show you attend. With Father's Day just around the corner, what a nice treat to take dad to the car show ... or sneak out yourself, for that special gift! Happy car showing. — Linda

Aero Car Reunion tour of Wellborn Muscle Car Museum

I just spotted this on YouTube ... very cool. The Wellborn Muscle Car Museum is definitely a must-see stop on any enthusiasts tour of the southern states. It is, quite simply, fabulous! Although I don't think we appear in the video, Michael and I were there back in October of 2009 for the Daytona Superbird Auto Club Reunion. Several of Michael's original watercolor Mopar paintings are on display in the Museum and the Gift Shop now offers Limited Edition Prints of most of Michael's work.

Check out this link to the Legendary Collector Cars website ... there are lots more photos, if you look closely, you'll see Michael's Limited Edition Prints and Gallery Edition Canvases in a couple of them, including the #43 Canvas of "Service Fit For a King"!

If you were there for the pre-Grand Opening, send us some pics or video, I'd love to include them on our blog. Have a great Memorial Day weekend. — Linda

Rare Boss Mustang Assembly Plant Photos

Muscle cars reached collector status sometime in the early 80s. That's not to say that their value skyrocketed at that time, but enthusiasts were already starting to buy them up and restore them. And, they were collecting, publishing and when the Internet age hit, posting every little thing about them that they could find. There is so much stuff out there, it's amazing - from vintage neon and metal signs, to car manuals, photographs and ads from back in the day. You need only to travel to a swap meet or car show to find lots of treasures. But after a few years, you figure you've seen pretty much all that's out there.  So, that when after all these years, something "new" (that's actually old) crops up, it's pretty amazing. Such is the case with the Randy Hernandez collection of photos.

Michael got his first glimpse of Randy's photos of the Kar Kraft Brighton Michigan Plant in Mustang Magazine a few months ago. Featuring the aerial of the plant in a double-page spread, the images were amazing to see. Turns out, the photos were Randy's dads, Fran Hernandez, who worked at Kar Kraft back in '69. He was the Manufacturing Liaison Manager (the most senior Ford Motor Company employee on-site).

Timing is everything ... especially when it comes to being inspired to paint. Michael had been thinking about a Boss painting for a while. He had just started sketching out some ideas when he saw the magazine layout ... and the rest is history! We contacted Randy and bought a CD from him with over 20 never-before-seen pics - pretty cool! It was that little bit of inspiration that Michael needed. Here's a sneak peek at the final creation - "Boss Building". It'll be released this weekend.

For information on how you can get your hands on these rare photos, contact Randy Hernandez (he's located in Michigan). — Linda

Collecitble: Mopar Magazine - Car Art on the Cover

Mopar Collectors Guide - July 2010

Magazine Editor Rob Wolf has honored Michael's great Mopar art once again, by putting his newest creation, They Came With The Farm Too, on the cover of the July issue of the Mopar Collectors Guide! These magazines have become quite the collectibles themselves, not only for the great content, but also for the uniqueness of the covers. Many clients go so far as to bring them to car shows and other automotive events in the hopes of Michael being there and having him autograph their copy.

If you're thinking of making the trek, magazine in hand, then just drop us an email to find out if we'll be at the event you plan to attend - we haven't quite nailed down our summer show schedule yet. I can tell you, we'll be at All-Chrysler Carlisle in July to start. We're in Row 'J', just a few steps from the grandstands.

This is the 5th cover of MCG that Michael has been featured on ... a great big thank you to Rob and all the staff at the Mopar Collectors Guide! To add to your collection and get your hands on a back issue, visit MCG on-line. — Linda

Mopar Dream Farm Continued

It's hard to believe that March flew by as quickly as it did. It's always a busy month, what with kids home for Spring Break, but this time it seemed even crazier. And now, we're half way into April! Before we know it, summer will be upon us. And with it, the summer car shows.

Our first big show would have been last weekend. We had planned on exhibiting Michael's automotive art at the Charlotte Autofair in North Carolina, however due to my mother's health, we just couldn't make the trip this time round. If you went, I'd love to hear how it was!

What we were able to do, however, was participate in a local event, Car Collector Auction (formerly RM Auction) at the International Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Only an hour's drive from our home in St. Catharines, we could each make the drive back and forth, as needed, over the 3 days. That meant, I could be here for my mom and at the event as well.

Along with the personal stuff, what's been keeping us super busy is the release of the long awaited sequel painting to Michael's incredibly popular, They Came With The Farm, aptly named .... They Came With The Farm Too (as in "as well"). When you see the two paintings next to each other, you realize the second one is actually a continuation of the first scene. It's really quite amazing.

Don't forget that the first one was painted 3 years ago, that's part of what makes it so incredible. Think about it, not only did Michael have to "line up" the scene, because one painting starts where the other ends, but he also had to match the color palette. Now, these are not out-of-the-tube paints ... each one is mixed - kind of like a custom paint job. The colors of every blade of grass, the sky, the sun and the shadows, all have to "match" the original painting.

Next, objects, trees and cars that were "cropped" on the right hand side of They Came With The Farm, have to appear in the second painting. Classic Mopars that were reflected in the body panels of the cars, had to appear in painting. And the cars in the first one, needed to be reflected in the cars in the new one! If that wasn't enough, the paintings had to work as a pair (color, layout), that was the goal, after all, and yet, like the first one, They Came With The Farm Too had to stand alone as well!!

Incredibly challenging and difficult, Michael pulled it off! Whether hung together or separately, this is an amazing collector set. Add to it that we are matching print numbers, and it just doesn't get much better ... although, if there was a third, maybe .... we ARE getting tons of inquiries!

For now, we'll just have to wait and see. Here's to a fabulous Spring! — Linda

Tiramisu Recipe - Simply Wonderful

February and March were extremely busy months at our little art studio. With over 25% of Michael's new painting, They Came With The Farm Too, being preordered before it was completed, you can imagine how busy we were once it was released! For Michael it was signing, numbering and embossing all the prints as well as the Certificates of Authenticity! Plus, he packs each order himself - that was a lot of tubes. Let's just say, FedEx loves us. For me, just the organization of paperwork and shipping documents alone, was a bit overwhelming.

Most of the first big rush is behind us now, making this weekend kind of a nice "breather" for me. As I prepare Easter lunch today and get ready to make my self-proclaimed, "best Tiramisu in the world," I am reminded that I promised to share this little flavor morsel with anyone who reads my blog!

Now, as you may already know, both my parents have diabetes, but my father, in particular, has an extreme sweet tooth. I am continually trying out new recipes (finding ways of making traditional ones as sugar free as possible), and although many are unsuccessful, this one's a real winner (even with non-diabetic friends). It's rich, decadent, and almost sugar free. I say almost, because although I've tried, I have not yet succeeded in finding sugar-free alcohol or making sugarless lady fingers. For now, I'm using store bought ones. What I do, however, is cut down the number of ladyfingers. My dad says the best part is the filling, anyway.

So, here goes. I hope you enjoy it. By the way, you may want to keep this little number a secret ... it's not as hard to make as people let on. Whenever I make this Tiramisu, I am always reminded of the Kellogg's Rice Krispie commercial where the mom dusts herself with flour to make it look like she's slaved over the squares!

Tiramisu Recipe - Simply Wonderful

6 large eggs, separated
1 cup Splenda Granulated
16 oz (475 gram) tub of Mascarpone
20 ladyfingers
1 cup Espresso or strong coffee
(I mix Maxwell House Instant Rich Dark Roast; 3 tbsp into 1 cup  water)
2 tablespoons brandy
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur
1/8 cup cocoa
Optional: whipping cream (sweetened with Splenda

To make the filling, combine 6 egg yolks, 4 tbsp coffee, Splenda, brandy and 2 tbsp coffee liqueur into the large mixing bowl.  Beat at medium speed for 2 - 3 minutes.

Add Mascarpone and beat another 3 - 5 minutes until smooth.

In another bowl beat 6 egg whites and a pinch of Splenda until forms stiff peaks. Gently fold into Mascarpone mixture.

Pour the coffee and remaining tbsp coffee liqueur into flat dish, dip one side of each ladyfinger and layer the bottom of a large, clear serving dish (I use a trifle bowl) with 6-7 ladyfingers. Unlike a traditional recipe, the fingers don't need to touch, since we are using less. I often break them in half before dipping - that way I can spread them out more on each layer.

Cover the ladyfingers with 1/3 of Mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with cocoa. I use a flour sifter, it makes for a nice even dusting. Alternately, you can use a small mess strainer. I use a fairly liberal dusting on the "in-between" layers, a lighter one on the top.

Continue layering and finish with a Mascarpone mixture layer, dusted with cocoa.

Refrigerate for at least an 1 hour before serving. If you can leave it overnight, it's even better!

I scoop my Tiramisu into dessert bowls and top with whipped cream (which according to my dad, makes everything better). It's not "pretty" but I'm more about taste than presentation! The dessert does look fabulous in the serving bowl, however, so you may want to "show it off" before scooping/serving. You may have seen photos where the Tiramisu is cut into pretty squares. Because we use less ladyfingers, my version is not as stiff. The ladyfingers absorb some of the moisture, making other recipes more "rigid."

From our family to yours, have a wonderful Easter weekend. Enjoy the food, no matter what you have, but especially the company of family and friends. See you soon. — Linda

Muscle Car Magazine Covers

It all started back in late spring 2007. Rob Wolf, of the Mopar Collectors Guide (MCG), gave us a call. He wanted to put Michael's first all Mopar painting, "They Came With The Farm," on the cover of his magazine. Our first reaction was to say, no. Up until then, we had always turned down queries about utilizing Michael's automotive paintings on anything other than the Limited Edition Prints, or Artist Proofs with Remarque, or Gallery Edition Canvases. Our feeling was (and still is), that if a collector is investing in a limited piece of art, it should in fact, be limited. Not that suddenly the complete, un-altered image appears on mugs, notecards and t-shirts.

That being said, a magazine cover was intriguing. Especially since it would be supported by an article about Michael and his art. Rob described in detail how the cover would be handled and we ultimately agreed. The rest, as we say, is history.

One interesting thing that came about due to Michael being "covered" ... it created a whole new kind of collectible. Now clients who have the Limited Edition Prints, Artist Proof with Remarque or Gallery Edition Canvases and the matching postcards, can also add the magazines to their collection! In fact, many have come up to us as automotive events and auctions, and had Michael autograph their copy of the magazine .... how cool is that! While some just hang on to their magazines as keepsakes, adding them to their collections, others frame them up right alongside their reproduction.

If you're interested in getting in on the collecting ... check out MCG's back issues webpage: http://www.moparcollectorsguide.com/backissues.html, they may still have some copies available. Then, next time you attend an event we're exhibiting at, bring your copy. Michael will happily autograph it for you! — Linda

Here are the covers and their issue dates:

"They Came With The Farm"
August 2007

"Six Pack Salute"
April 2008

"Feeding Frenzy"
December 2009

"Service Fit For A King"
April 2010