Art & Inspiration Is anyone curating Dave Bell's art?

Was talking with some friends recently about Dave Bell's artwork and we wondered what happened to all of it after his passing.

I grew up seeing his work in secondhand copies of hot rod magazines and spent a lot of time staring at all the little details and inside jokes. Not to mention that some of his renderings went on to become full fledged cars.

As prolific as he was, he must have left a large collection behind. Is anyone taking care of it now? Could we ever look forward to a book or anthology?

All I've found so far is a recent blog that's re-posting some of his Street Rodder work at http://coopstripe.blogspot.com/

Back in the day he sold posters through the hot rod and bike magazines...Would love to find if any of that stuff has survived.

 

Great question. I liked his work too, hope there is a book in the future. Bob

 

Yes sir....that is a definitely a good question. I learned to draw emulating his "toon" pages in Street Rodder....

 

back in the old days Dave Bells art was the first thing I looked at in Street Rodder. I have one of the posters he drew from the "Nostalgia Drags" at Fremont Drag Strip back in the 80's. really should frame it and hang it up.

 

I really liked his work. I too used to copy his drawings and style. Thanks for posting the blog link.

 

Same here. Would flip back to read through Dave's art, then read "In Bill's Eye, back when Street Rodder was at the top of the game.
You'd have to pay attention to catch his tongue in cheek wit or it would go right over your head. I recall one cartoon where the fictitious pinstriper was a Hispanic guy named "Juan Chot" ( in the Queen's English pronounced "One Shot" as in the striping enamel ).
Loved his work!

 

When Street Rodder was a magazine, Dave Bell's page was always the one I looked at first. What a talent!!

 

I messaged Greg Cooper who runs the blog...Hopefully he may know someone who knows something. Hopefully Dave has some family or friends who are preserving this stuff.

 

I to loved Dave Bell's work. I used to set and look at every detail of his artwork in the back of Street Rodder magazine. When I started a Street Rod Parts business in Louisville in the 90's his work was what I wanted on my T-shirts. Here is one of my remaining T-shirts. I have since gone out of business, and I sold the original artwork to a T-shirt company that sold old T-shirts from rod runs. Probably worth a bunch of money now.

 

Here is a Dave Bell original that Dave drew for my father back in 1967. A friend of my father’s called him up and told him to come over to the house because there was “a guy here that will draw your car for you.” I’m guessing this would have been fairly early in Dave’s career as an automotive artist.

I finally did it justice and had it mounted on acid-free matting and have it sitting behind museum glass.

 

Lots to look at in his artwork. Always enjoyed it.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Dave & I were pretty good friends back when I was drawing cars too. He was as great a person as he was an artist.

He used my '40 Merc in a couple of his drawings.

Mick

 

I have some of Dave Bell's original signed poster size art works he did of cartoons for Street Rodder Magazine; do these have any special monetary value?

 

Original art from Dave that's hanging in my shop