Last time Rod Authority interviewed the duo of digital artists, Robbie Bryant and Brian Fields, of KEG-Media. That was our first official artist profile and you can check that feature out here. For the followup artist profile it only made sense to contrast the movement of digital art with the old school style of hand drawn renderings. Pinstripe Chris is a talented individual who specializes in just that.

Pinstripe Chris is 27 years old and currently resides in Huntington Beach, California. Him and his lady have been residing in Southern California for two years. The Rockville, Maryland native has been hard at work producing some of the freshest hand drawn concept renderings for individuals within the industry, project builds with big name manufacturers attached to them, and the average blue collar builder alike.

It’s one thing to explain to readers who Pinstripe Chris is but luckily Rod Authority had the pleasure of conducting a Q&A in order to get it straight from the horses mouth, no fluff necessary. Check out what he had to say below:

Q&A–13 Questions With Pinstripe Chris

Rod Authority: How did you get into rendering art?

Pinstripe Chris: I’ve been drawing cars since middle school so it’s something I’ve always done for fun. But, about a year ago I decided to get more serious about it and left a full-time job at a hot rod shop to devote 100% of my time to artwork. I’ve been doing it non-stop since–from commissions, to paintings, to occasionally getting to work on my own ideas.

RA: How did you get into art in general?

PC: I’ve always loved drawing and have spent tons of time doing it either in free time or in class. It’s just been a big part of my life. I was originally going to go to an art school after high school and decided not to. That turned out to be the best decision. It put me on track to working in body shops and spending hands on time with real cars and learning to do the drawings purely based on trial and error.

RA: What is the most difficult piece you’ve ever created?

PC: I’d say the most difficult piece I’ve created so far was the rendering for PAC Racing Springs for their 1949 Chevy truck. The builder knew exactly what he wanted which is great–the real challenge was rendering rust with some of the old body color remaining. It was the first time I had been asked to do that and I’m always up for a new challenge, but it took some thinking to figure out how to arrive at the look on a small scale and on paper.

I’ve airbrushed similar things on cars and motorcycles, but the technique is much different because of the surface you’re working on. It also required a really specific set of colors to work and as a result 95% of the rendering was airbrushed.

Normally I mix in some marker for solid colors, but there was so much texture changing and color transition I decided predominantly airbrushing would be best. It was a great challenge and something I’m really happy with.

RA: Do you have a piece that you are most proud of?

PC: Man, the list is too long–every rendering is hopefully an opportunity for something to be proud of. I love the ’57 truck, the ’62 Cadillac, and the ’49 Merc for how clean they are. But, I also love the ’67 C10, ’36 Chevy, and the ’65 Cadillac for how much fun they are visually.

I love them all though, I wouldn’t agree to or put something out there that I’m not proud of.

RA: Do you produce other genres of visual art?

PC: I do indeed–my background is actually airbrushing, pinstriping, and Sharpie art on cars and motorcycles. I did that for many years leading up to doing illustrations and the things I learned by doing those has helped me tremendously with doing the renderings.

I’ve spent a lot more time in the last few years doing Sharpie Art which is hand drawn artwork directly on the surface of cars using Sharpies. Doing that has been so much fun and opened up a lot of great opportunities–I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t been doing Sharpie cars I don’t think.

RA: What is your preferred medium?

PC: I love using markers because they are such a fantastic tool, but I love airbrushing for everything that I don’t do with markers. I like to use pens and markers to get all the solid color cells down, then airbrush in all the gradations and color transitions. The two mediums together allow for things to look very sharp while being very smooth.

RA: Hand drawn versus digital rendering–your thoughts:

PC: The industry is changing a lot to where digital renderings are more common and understandably so. It’s possible with the right tools and creativity to make a really realistic rendering digitally. You can also make changes a little easier too. However, it’s something I’ll never do–I prefer to do everything by hand, making a mess with paints and inks is just a fun part of the process. I also like the idea that someone is getting a hand drawn piece of artwork when I finish a rendering, which is really special and there will only ever be one of. Yes, there is no “undo” button, but those mistakes are what can really help an artist grow.

RA: Who are your biggest artistic influences?

PC: My biggest influences are Steve Stanford and Chip Foose–I’ve been lucky to be in this area where they both are and have gotten a chance to meet them both. They are both incredibly talented artists and the nicest guys you could ever meet, but even more than that they have ideas that are so unique and a vision that they can put down on paper incredibly elegantly. Both Steve and Chip are also marker-airbrush guys which is great since it can show you the possibilities of those mediums in the hands of pros.

Steve has given me tips that have changed the way I look at things and has massively improved what I put down on paper I think. I really enjoy having Overhaulin’ on in the background when I’m working too–watching them bring artwork to life like that is really inspiring.

RA: What advice would you give a younger person who is interested in art but has had no prior experience?

PC: That’s a tough one–I actually get a fair amount of e-mails from other artists asking for tips about how to get started and move forward with their artwork and there’s no easy answer. The best thing I can say is if you have a passion for it–GO FOR IT. Don’t wait ‘til you have free time, put your heart into it and see what it gives back to you. You also have to be willing to make mistakes in order to move forward. It can be discouraging but it can also lead to improvement.

Another important thing is to share with others in ways like Facebook or Instagram–getting feedback is really valuable in helping you move forward and it lets people know that you are creating things. If you’re serious about it, your commitment will show.

RA: How does art relate to hot rod and kustom kulture to you? In other words, why do you think art is such an important element?

PC: Artwork can really connect you with the cars and even the decade they came out of and I love getting opportunities to do that.

Being able to connect with someone’s passion for cars is a great thing and we can’t all afford to have the cars we dream about, so the artwork is a way to get there.

There are so many different types and styles of artwork to choose from that have all kinds of modern twists or classic touches–there’s something out there for everyone to enjoy.

RA: Do you own a hot rod or custom?

PC: I wish–we’ve had lots of old cars that I really love, but at the moment I’m spending most of my time drawing them instead of driving them. I have started on a couple renderings of cars we used to have that I hope to find again in order to build the way we want in the future.

RA: Do you think that hand rendering is a dying art?

PC: I do actually–it’s not considered the most common way to have a rendering done anymore. I don’t mind it though because I like the idea of doing something different than the norm.

RA: What trends do you see in hot rod and kustom kulture from the artistic perspective–what paint jobs, upholstery styles, or body customizations have been catching your eye?

PC: I think that’s really tough to say since builders are pushing every year to outdo themselves from the previous year. I do feel like the 60s style customs with some modern touches are really strong right now and it’s a really timeless look.

Needless to say, Pinstripe Chris is an inspiration because of the passion he maintains for his mediums, dedication to the trade he has honed through the years, and all around humble personality. There’s something to be said about someone who let’s their work speak volumes at the top of mountains instead of letting their ego wield the megaphone–Pinstripe Chris, for all his easygoingness is a powerful force of tradition and has a definitely bright and expansive future ahead of him within kustom kulture, hot rodding, and the automotive industry as a whole.

Pinstripe Chris & Project Flat Out–The Young Master At Work

To wrap things up with something very special, Pinstripe Chris blessed Rod Authority with a step by step process on his creation of the magazine’s project car, Flat Out. Below you’ll see a ten step progression from penciling to ink.

On that note, be sure to check out Rod Authority’s Project Flat Out build thread and stay up to date with the progress. It’s amazing to think that the build came into creative fruition from Pinstripe Chris’s original concept–that is the magical relationship of art and automotive culture in our opinion and we’re happy to say that Chris is at the forefront spearheading the next generation of artists who will keep the fire of this integral relationship alive and well.

To contact Chris for commissions, view his body of work, or to stay up to date with his career you can check out his homepage and Facebook page.