Art & Inspiration Von Dutch for Sale: The Brucker Auction.

I can't say I have ever heard "very pleasant man" used to describe him. Cantankerous, temperamental yes but not very pleasant. By the sounds of things he very well may have had some sort of mental health issues that lead to his disposition and I am sure the alcoholism didn't help either.

 

I've seen every episode of that show and never knew that fact. cool. there were 3.. wonder if he did all 3.

 

I didn't quite thoroughly read the story but perhaps the owner that is mentioned may actually still have it so I will research that later when I have a moment.

That plush interior harkens back to those horse drawn coaches...

 

I have read good and bad stories of Von dutch but one thing is for sure, they were always interesting. We recently got into this conversation at work regarding the Legends and rock stars of our time slowly dying off and it doesn't seem to be anyone replacing these pioneers of the era. All you seem to find is fabricated so called stars that are here today and gone tomorrow. It doesn't seem that anyone is really leaving their mark on the world like people used to. Or in 20 years time will Graceland be considered anything more than just a house that a good looking guy named Elvis just lived in?

 

The Von Dutch Winton Flyer is currently owned by a collector in Michigan.

 

You have to understand all the greats have there time when no one is watching. It was the 70`s and early 80`s for Von Dutch(Ken Howard). What was George Barris doing in the 80`s. Grabowski even worked at Disney Land with Von Dutch.

 

Hanging around here there is a vast array of Commercial and Private Artists, Metalsmiths and more coupled with equal creative genius that are more than capable of creating wild stuff and as it was already said that was then and the now is more saturated with a diversified hodgepodge...I enjoy the creativness around here and have been in a state of awe many times.

 

That is a Flying Lemon radiator cap from a Citroen from around 1923. First one I ever saw was in the Mullin Collection in Oxnard, Ca., wonder if von Dutch saw one and patterned his Flying Eyeball after it?
Bob

 

This is in the Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa Iowa.

 

I wonder how famous "Ken Howard" would be today. There IS something about a catchy name.

 

He certainly was something. Perhaps many of us who like to live "all in" relating to this car/hot rod disease knows someone who excells at something unique. Some guys just have a lot of energy and never stop, some are pulled 6 ways to Sunday and seldom finish. Lately I'm somewhere in between.

I always liked the stigma that surrounded 'Dutch coupled with his talents but I wouldn't take to the level of admiration. Truth be told, his legend adds an air of quality to his art work that's really not there in a lot of cases. If it was just "Joey the Brush" and this was his work how would you judge it? No disrespect to anyone who might be Joey, just trying to be generic and make a point.

Like the end of the interview in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Ken Howard clearly applies.

 

But that's the nature of art. Joey the Brush could have thrown paint on a canvas as well but he still wouldn't be Jackson Pollock any more than he would have been Von Dutch.

 

I met Von Dutch a few years before he died. His Moto Guzzi Falcone sidecar rig was in front of a produce stand in Santa Paula, CA. I was checking it out and noticed the German styled helmet in the sidecar, chromed and engraved. I knew, right away, who's bike it was was. He came over, carrying his sack of fruit and began talking. I never told him that I knew who he was. Let me tell you, the guy was a certified weirdo. He probably believed in every conspiracy theory out there and a few that he developed on his own

 

Quite a few years ago ( 1078 ) a couple of friends and I went to Jim Brucker's, Cars Of The Stars. As we were speaking with Jim Rrucker out back, Von Dutch came out of his bus that was just parked out back, and came over to speak with Jim Brucker. One of my friends, John Peters, from Arlington, Massachusetts was astonished to be standing next to Von Dutch. We went into the building with Jim Brucker, and had a guided tour of the place. Von Dutch also created some beautiful hand crafted knives and guns which we were fortunate enough to see. Thanks for the memories.

 

We must have simply been in the right place at the right time ... Probably around 1996, maybe? My wife, young daughter, and myself were invited to an upstairs "office" above the Betz Speed and Color shop in Orange, by Stan Betz. He must have taken a special liking to us, because he had about twenty guys waiting for him downstairs that were in need of his expertise and knowledge. After marching us up the stairs, he unlocked the door, turned on the lights, and on display all around the room and covering a large table, was nothing but Von Dutch memorabilia. From engraved rifles to engraved sidearms to engraved knives to his beloved engraved motorcycle helmet to tools and artwork, there must have been around a hundred items in there. I think Stan was about the only guy that anyone trusted with the entire collection at that time.
I knew he was close buddies with Von Dutch, but I didn't know until then just how close they were. It was amazing to be able to pick up and examine each and every item as if we were shopping for produce, or something. Stan gave me this autographed photo of he and Dutch. It's a huge photo that I still have, hanging in my garage. I know Von Dutch autographed just about everything he ever did, but I don't know how many images of himself that he actually signed ...

Sadly, Stan passed away about a year ago.

 

Ed, do you remember Stan sitting in the alley behind the shop mixing custom colors for people? The delivery girl that drove the El Camino was named Cass.

 

I sure do! His "office" (the alley) had more paint on the ground (one drop at a time) than most cars have on their panels! I still have a gallon or two of his custom-mixed paint colors on my shelf.

 

It has been confirmed by a few here that Von Dutch was less than a pleasant man and through a little research I stand corrected...

His art from what I have seen and that is not a lot did not reflect some of his more negative character references as in who this person other than an artist was...

Nonetheless this thread continues to be an eye opener for me. The world is far from perfect without question.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Howard

 

Can just imagine the Old Master with his cap on.

 

Stogy,
All genius type people, and I do consider Dutch to be a genius, had their particular and individual quirks. The two things that you DID NOT DO was tell him in detail what you wanted done and you did not critique his work. I took my motorcycle parts to him and we talked for a few minutes and he was done talking and that was it. A short time later I picked up the parts, paid up, and left.
I'm not going to go into his addictions, quirks, or anything else because it doesn't matter. I do know that every show the bike was entered in (the old R.G. Canning shows in So Cal) I left with best paint and sweepstakes.
I'v seen his paint work, knives, guns, and so on and all I can say is that I wished I had his talent and that trumps his piss poor attitude and prejudices.

 

There’s a reprinted article in the Rodders Journal about Dutch, seems HRM’s editor Terry Cook (1972-74) went to the Cars of the Stars museum to interview him. During the interview Cook learned that Dutch had spent in a military mental hospital not long after WW2 after having pulled his Side arm on an officer. That might have accounted for his sour disposition. One could argue that there is/ was more to it but we’ll never know.


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I have a diverse like of art...from mild to wild...I am very sure many Artists are beyond the canvas very different some good some bad...just like all of us here and beyond this platform.

It is interesting many of you have met the man and were able to have opportunity to have his mind decorate your canvas's, be it metal or otherwise. Some of you have witnessed his eccentricities while interacting with him.

He dealt the world of Hotrod/Custom and beyond, inspiration and joy for those final strokes and graphics...Stan Betz was another talent and it is all part of the things/scene we celebrate here...

I find it interesting that he claimed to be the originator of the modern pinstripe.

He certainly had a sense of humor and some dark and suggestive text and things going on.

Much of Hotrod/Custom/Race was dark and suggestive...he wasn't alone...

Shrunken heads, Grabowski's creepy heads...it isn't for everyone.

 

I think you are suggesting some of his work was lacking in substance or quality and that the hype was overblown...

As an Artist of sorts myself I do my best and call it done...and many times its easy to be your own worst critic or just pushing the envelope and losing the edge of what you had...its a tough decision when to stop.

Sometimes it doesn't satisfy or meet my level of expectations and perhaps the masses but I let it go for customer evaluation as they may be satisfied...We are usually under time and monetary constraints as well.

He did the Movie Star thing with his name and your right Ken Howard might have went in one ear and out the other.

He probably had thought that Name up all on his own...where the Movie Stars had Managers.

He also was a clever marketer signing just about everything he touched...and it worked and of course like many who get up there they topple over the other side.

It's an interesting story.

 

I am 58 years old and just got my first tattoo. I can blame this on you all.

 

Let me just say that Stan Betz was truly a class act , Von Dutch , not so much . Back in the 80's Ed Roth would have his annual " Rat Fink" party at Kim Dedic's pin stripe shop in Fullerton CA. in December every year . All the pin stripers would show up and talk shop and stripe anything that would sit still , even the occasional rental car . Von Dutch would show up and it usually didn't take him long to get pissed off over something trivial and storm out the door muttering to himself . Most of us looked at him as the guy who brought pin striping on cars to the fore front of the public , nothing more . On thing to keep in mind is that for the most part he was self taught with no formal training in the signarts field . After being in this business for 45 plus years , I have met many really talented and great guys that do this craft who are well trained and accomplished letterers and stripers . I'll probably take some heat from the Von Dutch fans but it is what it is .

 

Everything I know about Von Dutch I have learned since the start of this thread. Other interested newbies might enjoy this long video, as it provides insight into several aspects:

History on the origins of Kustom striping (not sure I believe the grinder mark scratch cover story, maybe it's true..) and his upbringing.

His personality. I can see how he could be, uh, difficult. Was he boozing at this point in his life?

His ability, as he whips out the 'Steak and Eggs, $1.99' sign in about two minutes. What struck me, besides the ability to knock out the letters, was the spacing on the board, without pre sketching. Whenever I try that the words run off the end of the board. I suppose when you've done it enough you can picture the finished sign and sizing in your mind in a few seconds.

Pointers on striping of course.

 

My memories of stories reported in his latter years were him sitting at a bar most of the day. That will either get you in a mellow mood or a confrontational mood. Those stories emphasized the latter.

 

I had a friend who reminds me very much of Von Dutch. An expert (in another field), solely dedicated to his craft and little else. No family. Slept, at the end of the day or night, in a cot within eyesight of his work. As he aged he got cranky, disgruntled, whatever (I'm no psychiatrist). Disapproving of ideas and work that he had no part in developing. I wonder if it's due to a feeling of not gaining the recognition you feel you deserve for your life's work.

Or maybe it's just the booze.

Glad I have my fingers in many pies, even though I'll never be expert at any. When one craps out I just move onto the next. Anyway I've enjoyed reading the memories from those of you who remember Von Dutch, thanks for posting them.