Ferrari Art, Concept Cars and Facebook

Story by Pete Vack
Images by Richard Bartholomew

My first reaction was a huge, shit-eating grin, chuckles, and guffaws. There was a photo of a Dino 246GT embossed with all sorts of geegaws and looking totally weird. Then, a Ferrari PF 250GT, now featuring a chopped top and outside exhausts. To cap it off, my favorite Ferrari of all time, the 166 barchetta (little boat), was turned into a jacuzzi. “Ferrari at Spa”, said the artist. It was as if the ghosts of Dean Jeffries, von Dutch, and George Barris had gone berserk and inhabited the computer of Rick Bartholomew.

To our horror or amusement, Rick’s Ferrari customizations overlays the tasteless use of chrome, fins and excess so famous in America during the 1950s, onto the cleanest, purest Pininfarina Ferrari designs of the same era. On another level, they might be anathema to the monied establishment who put Ferraris on a golden pedestal, but also allows us to laugh at ourselves, our hobby, and our values. Let there be no sacred cows, but let there be laughter.

I wondered how Rick Bartholomew does this. The customizations were done so well it was very difficult to tell that they were not real. This has been one of Rick’s problems – his work is so seamless many people assume they are actual cars. We featured his humorously hijacked E-Jag a few months ago and despite the clear subtitle of “Humor” several readers thought it was a true story. And perhaps it is the realism that subconsciously bothers people – if it were a drawing, they would probably not react. Some people object to the point that some of his work is now banned on certain Facebook sites.

Not your average Photoshop

I found out that Bartholomew is NOT using a standard photoshop program such as Adobe Photoshop Elements. One might think that anyone with a good photoshop program can do this. I work with Adobe daily, and know how difficult this can be even with a good photoshop program. How then is he able to accomplish this sleight of hand?

Rick told us that he “… started doing graphics on the old black and white Apple computers my dad and brother had then gravitated to graphics programs. I don’t use or own photoshop. I use simple Microsoft Paint for most of it, for some smoothing of small parts and other touch ups I use an Arc soft program I got with a digital camera years ago.”

But it is his ability to combine various methods to produce the life-like results that is rather unique. He adds, “There are also art programs that let me turn my car photos into art and they are quite automated, but also they are not perfect and need to be adjusted and fiddled with. But they can do many styles of art; editing is important too, but the key is formatting for the end canvas whether paper prints, big real canvas or just phones and computer screens.”

Powered by imagination

Even if one has the tools, they have to be powered by imagination. While I, for example, might be able to work the tools, I could never have soberly conceived some of the transformations that come off Rick’s computer. One fan on Facebook said of Rick, “You are the computer Chip Foose only better.” (Chip Foose is one of the very popular car customizers who have a program on the Velocity channel. Quite a compliment!)

“At the start I just called them what they are, styling exercises. I was the guy that liked to draw on car magazine covers, adding fenderskirts to cars; now I can do it and they look real.”

The start was in the Mid-West as an Air Force brat, grade school in Indiana, graduated in Tucson, and then to Southern California where he has been since the early 80s. Rick retired from the transportation industry and has owned a variety of cars, including a 1957 Alfa Giulietta Sprint Speciale and a Sunbeam Alpine. So he’s a car guy, no doubt.

“I have been making these for a long time. Before Tom Meade died I contacted him and showed him some stuff like this via email. He got a kick out of them; a Ferrari convertible that had a body that was all scoops and he laughed and said that car would have no drag at all!”

To be fair, many of the cars are similarly festooned, perhaps too many six-wheel variations, and there often seems to be too much repetition.

But just when you think he’s out of ideas he comes up with this vision of a Ford Econoline, simply moving the cab back over the rear wheels, while not altering anything else. The effect is remarkable.

Now why didn’t I think of that? Or a Ferrari GTC which is transformed by covering up the rear wheels. Simple, easy, but again, dramatically changing the lines of the car and our visions of what a GTC/4 should look like.

Rick’s work evokes that of other artists such as Stan Mott of Cyclops fame. And one can’t help but be reminded of the work of writer/artist Bruce McCall, whose retro/futuristic art often exaggerates iconic automobiles.

Banned from Facebook

Rick’s work is not always welcomed by Facebook viewers. Purposely ugly, extreme, bold, imaginative, his art — if one might call it art – gets on with lampooning everything from Ferraris to a 1955 Surfer’s Chevy, which recently got him in hot water on the Steel Dreams Facebook site.

He doesn’t mean to upset anyone. But there are some who can’t stand messing with the Mona Lisa, and it offends them. “I see the point about guys wanting to go there and see nice looking old cars and not see my weird stuff. They like my regular posts but the normal photos sure don’t get the reactions or shares. Plus, most are thumbs up on my art by a large margin; some get the joke after it is explained and some old guys laugh and say they thought they had on the wrong glasses.”

The debate became so heated that Rick decided to remove the offending art rather than suffer the nastigrams. New rules posted after the controversy stated “No photoshopped images of vehicles. By popular demand of our members, we ask any photograph of a vehicle be a true representation of that vehicle. Concept car artwork, photos, etc. are welcome.” Lacking is a definition of ‘photoshopped’ and ‘concept car.’

The problem is that although Rick does work with traditional paint brushes, water colors and oils, his ‘concept cars’ are still his own unique variation of several computer programs. But they look like paintings as the Packard above illustrates. So is it ok for him to put the Packard on the Facebook site? Well maybe. Interesting.

Perhaps the best idea would be to get Rick his own Facebook page and website, where he can display his work without fear or nasty comments.

A parting shot…“ceci n’est pas une voiture”

La Trahison des images (The Treachery of images), Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe) is one of Rene Magritte’s Surrealist masterpieces and an icon of modern art which reminds us that we are not looking at a pipe, car, a Ferrari, or a 1955 Chevy but only an image, an artist’s interpretation of the object.