FOR OVER THREE DECADES, STEVE STANFORD has been one of the industries Premire Artists. His work is known worldwide and he's equally at home penning beautiful renditions of both Rods, and, Customs. MANY of Steve's "concept drawings" have been turned into "real steel", you've seen 'em for years...and, some are probably being hammered-together while I'm writing this !
Steve and I had talked on the phone before, but met and became friends when he was inducted into Darryl Starbird's National Rod & Custom Hall Of Fame in 2008. We've kept in touch since then, and he's not only a truly excellent artist, but a really fun guy to spend quality-time with.
Steve's work has been featured in Rod & Custom, Street Rodder, Hot Rod, The Rodder's Journal, Custom Rodder, Car Kulture DeLuxe, and SO many other mags through the years. When we talked I wanted to find out where Steve came up with some of these fantastic designs that he envisions and, also, how he worked with his clients when they came to him to with the"Dream Cars" they wanted to build.
The man is a PRO through-and-through, and if you're an aspiring artist yourself, or someone like me who has always admired the work he does, you'll hear how this Hall Of Famer gets down to the bottom line...and creates these beautiful Dream Machines. JK
(Above Left: Roger O'Dell's Stanford-penned, Caddy Seville; Above Right: "Kopperhed", Billy Gibbons' Steve-inspired Ford 3-Window. )
(Above left: Steve's "Slo Touring Monte Carlo" Concept; Above Right: Rare '60 Dodge HardTop...when was the last time YOU saw one of these ? Someone needs to do a build on this car ! Hey, wait ! It's MY IDEA to begin with...!! )
SPECIAL NOTE: Some of the illustrations on this Page courtesy of Hot Rod Magazine. To see more of Steve's work, check-out Christopher Campbell's story in Hot Rod:
http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0806_new_ideas_for_common_cars/index.html
