Here's the first sighting of one of my license plate guitars in a Red Robin restaurant. I worked with the chain on a large commission of artwork for the renovation of hundreds of their stories. This story is located in West Babylon, NY. It was even more of an honor to see it hanging on the wall because my family went to the restaurant and snapped the photo. If you see a photo of one of my pieces in a Red Robin restaurant, please snap a photo too, and send me an email to let me know.
Personalized birthday gifts hold special meaning
CommentA significant birthday - whether it's a sweet 16, or a milestone year - deserves something extra special. I've created several custom license plate guitars for parents to give to their children, and partners to give to their signfiicant others. Some feature their names, their favorite activities, sports teams, and artists, where they've lived, their own vintage plates, and significant sayings. No birthday piece would be complete without featuring their birthday date on the keys.
Comissioning a handcrafted birthday gift carries special meaning, and will always hold a special place in your loved ones heart and home. Find inspiration in the personalized birthday gifts here, then call me at 516-376-6499 to discuss how to create one for someone special in your life.
Best Father's Day gift
CommentGuys don't want socks and ties for Father's Day. There are a few things that are sure to get their engines revving - a Corvette is definitely one of them. This artwork features a 1960s Corvette racing across a speedway. Created from vintage license plates that are painted and tacked to a wood backing, this one-of-a-kind piece is guaranteed to be the best Father's Day gift ever. Now you can say you gave him a 1960s Corvette for Father's Day.
Personalized photo gifts - license plate guitar kicks 'em up a notch
CommentOld photographs evoke such strong emotions. I often use my clients' own photos in their personalized license plate guitars. These license plate guitars kick the idea of personalized photo gifts up exponentially. I'm frequently told these personalized photo gifts will be cherished for a lifetime.
My dad and me on the beach in 1965.
I realized just how important these old photographs are when I came across this photo of my father and me. I'm thinking of how I'll use it to honor him on Father's Day. It also make me stop and think about how important these captured images in time are to my clients, who ask me to incorporate their cherished images of individiuals, sunsets, and family portraits, in their license plate art.
I've used all types of photographs in my license plate guitars. These pieces have been given as personalized birthday gifts, personalized anniversary gifts, personalized wedding gifts, and in memory of loved ones. Each of these license plate guitars tell a story that touches the recipient in a way that few gifts can. I am constantly told by my clients that their loved ones will prominently feature their personalized gifts, featuring photographs that mean so much to them. I am honored to have the opportunity to work so closely with my clients, and bring others joy.
Do you have a photograph that you want to frame in a personalized license plate guitar? Give me a call or drop me an email to discuss how we can turn it into a personalized gift for your loved one.
Graduation gift your grad will cherish
CommentFinding the perfect graduation gift to commemorate this rite of passage isn't easy. Sure, you can buy a watch, engrave it, and hope they cherish it for years go come. But wouldn't it be better to create a personalized gift, one that tells the story that made your graduate who they have become?
License plate guitars make great personalized graduation gifts. Here's a few I've made for my clients, whose sons and daughters have graduated from high schools and colleges. In addition to the details of when and what school they graduated, I also include sports they participated in, where they lived, clubs they belonged to, and symbols of their school mascots and other interests.
Every time, I've been told these custom graduation gifts have struck a chord with their young adult. Here's a comment from one of my clients, which illustrates how meaningful the personalized graduation gift was.
I just wanted to thank you again for the Gibson graduation guitar you made up for our son, Matthew. We were able to finally give it to him at his graduation last Saturday. He loved it. He was amazed at all the details of his life that you were able to put on it and that it was one of a kind. He said that no matter where he lives he will always have it up on the wall. I can’t thank you enough for all your efforts to get it just right for him. Jodi Herzog
If you like what you see, give me a call to discuss the gift you want to create for your graduate.
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License plate guitars in Red Robin restaurants
commercial work2 CommentsThis past year has been an amazing ride. Last April, I was contacted by a firm representing the Red Robin chain of restaurants, which commissioned me to create license plate guitars for several hundred of their restaurants, which were or still are undergoing renovation. I've created more than 100 pieces for them, including license plate guitar tributes to Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Brad Paisley, and, of course, the American flag. Here's a few of my favorites.
I just found this article which talks about the custom license plate guitars in Red Robin that I created for a franchise owner in Billings, MO. I featured his colorful license plate guitars in a blog post last year. This license plate guitar was a special commission for a Red Robin in Texas.
I completed my most recent order of 50 for them last month, and now I'm turning my creative juices to new ideas that I've been wanting to pursue but haven't had the time to do. If you have suggestions, I always welcome them.
If you see my work in Red Robin, please leave a comment below and let me know.
When the Beatles changed everything - license plate guitar art
CommentFifty years ago, the Beatles stepped off the plane at JFK and changed music forever. They were my inspiration for these license plate guitars that I created for a client in Denver.
I wanted to use the first images of the Beatles that popped into my head. When I close my eyes, I immediately see the Fab Four walking across Abbey Road. Songs from that album are featured around the body of the license plate guitar. Here Comes the Sun is one of the classics that remains popular today.
The next piece is a mash-up of the White album and Help, which both have simple white covers. The movie poster for Help was was a huge hit so I created silouhettes of the four and placed them against the stark white background. When you look at it, you can't "help" but start singing the song, "Help, I need somebody, Help not just anybody..."
I know. Now it's stuck in your head just like it's stuck in mine.
Enjoy.
Guns Up - Texas Tech
CommentA client in Texas asked me to create a series of guitars for her restaurant. I wanted the guitar to appeal to her customers, who she said were mostly students from Texas Tech. We also decided to feature the school’s mascot, Raider Red, as well as the saying, “Guns Up.”
During my research, I stumbled upon a great cartoon drawing of Raider Red created by Nathan Boyd for a friend of his in Texas. He graciously allowed me to use his drawing in the center hole of the guitar. Thanks, Nathan, for your collaboration. Working with another artist on this piece was a great experience.
License plate guitars for O'Leary Orthodontics
CommentI created a collection of three license plate guitars for O’Leary Orthodontics in South Carolina.
Brian and Kim O’Leary commissioned me to create the collection to represent their lives. Brian is an orthodontist from Virginia and requested a Hokies-style guitar. He studied at West Virginia, which is reflected on the telecaster style guitar, which says Ortho down the neck. The family now lives in South Carolina. The acoustic, which says O'Leary down the neck, features the names of his loved ones and colors that represent his Irish heritage. The family photo in the center really sets the piece off nicely against the South Carolina Palm tree tags.
Gift for a Civil War buff from Nevada and New York
CommentI recently had the pleasure of working with two daughters who commissioned this personalized gift for their father, a Civil War buff from Nevada and New York. During the interview process, Jamie and Michelle said their dad loved music and has played guitar all his life. He was originally from New York, and now lives in Las Vegas where he runs his business, JR Flooring, which is prominently featured on the guitar.
I used colorful tags from Nevada and New York, wrote their last name down the neck, and featured the names of his loved ones around the body of the guitar. Civil War is displayed on the bridge. Michelle and Jamie sent me the photo that appears in the center, which shows their dad at one of his gigs. As always, it is fun to get to know my clients by creating their life stories through my highly personalized guitar art.
Holiday gift tells son's life story
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I worked with a mother and father to create a personalized holiday gift for their son. They requested a Gibson ES-335. The guitar features tags from Ohio, North and South Carolina, North Dakota, New York and Germany -- all places the family has lived. They asked for Air Force sayings, which are featured throughout the piece, to reflect theirtime in the military.
Here are some kind words from his parents:
"We just wanted to let you know that Derek really enjoyed his guitar. We think it turned out awesome. Thank you for doing an outstanding job and caring enough to put Derek’s life history into a piece of art that he will cherish forever."
J and D, South Carolina
Here are their son's thoughts on the piece:
"My parents commissioned a beautiful piece of guitar art from you.
I absolutely love this piece! It is a really cool and beautiful way to have an artist provide a personal touch to my living space. Every time I look at it, I have happy and fond memories. I can't thank you enough for working with my parents to create this piece for me.
Thank you so much!
- Derek S.
Family's American experience featured in guitar art
1 Comment
Several years ago I met a family at a Chapel Hill art show. This year they commissioned me to create a license plate guitar that features details of their three-year stay in America. They will return to France in a few months, and wanted me to help them remember all the states they visited in the U.S. and their favorite spots in each. We used the red, white and blue to pay tribute to the American flag.
In New York it was the Chrysler building, in Washington, DC it was the Lincoln Memorial. They enjoyed Key West in Florida, Venice Beach in California, Charleston, South Carolina, and the national parks in Arizona and Utah.
Their family name, Playe, appears on the neck, and their names are on the bridge. Their childrens' names are around the guitar's body, and Bertrand's birthdate date is on the keys.
I love being challenged by my clients, who continue to come up with new ways to use my artwork to pay tribute to what they find special. Keep the ideas flowing!
Auburn / Opryland Mash-up
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My client is an architect in Tennesse who wanted me to combine his love for the Auburn Tigers, with his career achievements. He completed the renovation on the Ryman auditorium in Nashville, he's worked at Opryland, he's a Titans and Nashville Sounds fan, as well as the Bradshaw High School Bruins. He also wanted me to include his birthday, which you can see on the keys. Pay close attention to the top left tuning key. It's a Weimaraner dog - he's a fan and requested it be featured on his piece. I combined all of these interests in a Les Paul license plate guitar that featues vintage Tennessee and Alabama plates.
Guitar Art Reflects Passions of Restaurant Owner and Patrons
Custom Work, Acoustic, Music Tribute, Sports TributeCommentMy client, Justin, owns several popular restaurants in Montana. He wanted 4 custom license plate guitars to represent the passions his patrons. Justin is a big Toby Keith fan so we had our first piece set.
Than he stated he wanted to represent all the college students who come to the restaurant. The Cat Griz football guitar was born.
For the next piece, his employees came up with the idea to have all the high school teams from Billings Montana displayed around the outside body with the Billings logo in the center hole bringing them all together.
The last piece is an acoustic style that pays tribute to the Yellowstone River, one of the great fly-fishing spots in Montana. The colors on this piece are amazing - almost as beautiful as this state.
I would like to personally thank Justin and all of his employees who helped to make this beautiful collection of Montana-themed license plate guitars possible.
A Great Collection of License Plates
CommentMy clients, Pam and Glen, are from the New England area, and saved
some of the most colorful license plates over the years. They asked me to create license plate guitar art using their tags.
This uniqueness of this handcrafted guitar art is due to Glen’s passion for hunting down some of the neatest sports tags and symbols of the New England region.
In just one piece, it tells their story in such a colorful and creative way.
There are so many details to spot.
Around the outside body are references to family members and places of interest. Their wedding date and initials are displayed on
the keys.
I have to thank my clients, Pam and Glen, for having the vision to see the guitar art that could be created from their license plates. I also want to thank them for allowing me tell the story of their New England heritage.
You and Me - Dave Matthews = Friendship
Acoustic, Custom Work, Music TributeCommentThis License Plate Guitar Art tells the story of friendship.
When I first spoke to Bob he told me he wanted a piece that would showcase his personal connection with one of his clients. They had been to a Dave Matthews concert at the Alpine Valley in Wisconsin.
"That's where we really started connecting as friends, and it remains one of the strongest connectors we have," Bob said. It always comes back to music with us."
With Bob’s input, I added his client's personal information to create an amazing personalized gift.
What makes this guitar art special is its features:
- Where they met in Maine.
- Their wedding date and their children’s names.
- The states they've lived in are featured on the body.
- Around the right side are some of their favorite Dave Matthews songs, "41," "You and Me."
Thanks Bob for helping create this amazing gift.
License Plate Guitar Art for Rick Hendrick's Birthday
2 CommentsI created this license plate guitar art as a birthday gift for Rick Hendrick, owner and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group. Here's how it happened.
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of being on American Real for MAVTV. The Charlotte-based production team of Kevin Mooney and Chip Zayak, shot the piece. They made it a terrific experience.
During my interview, they asked me which piece was my favorite. While I've got a few, the first to come to mind was the license plate guitar I made for Brad Paisley that featured tags from his cars over the years.
As it turned out, they were shooting a piece with Brad Paisley the next day for AmeriCarna, a show that will air in January 2014.
It wasn't long before I received a call from the office of NASCAR great Ray Evernham, asking me to create a gift for Mr. Hendrick for his birthday. Mr. Evernham told me Brad Paisley raved about the piece I created for him. All I can say is man, did that feel good.
I interviewed Mr. Evernham and set about creating a piece that features the logo of the Americarna show. There are other details, like the "Mr. H" that appears on the bridge, that makes this one very special gift Mr. Hendrick.
Stay Tuned for More License Plate Guitar Art
License Plate Guitar Art Combines Love for Pearl Jam and FL Marlins
CommentI met my client at Artsplosure, an art fair in Raleigh, and came to me with the idea to create a telecaster featuring Pearl Jam's hit, Just Breathe. Look closely at the detail. The volume and tone control knobs feature the logos from the camps he went to as a kid. The keys spell out his daughter's name, Madi. and her birth year, '04. A very cool piece. It's great to make these pieces that feature my client's input.
License plate guitar art combines client's passion for Pearl Jam and the FL Marlins.
The decorative Miami piece is offset by the FL plates on this license plate guitar art.
License Plate Guitar Art - Bruce Springsteen - "The Boss"
1 Comment
I recently did a show called Artisphere in South Carolina. I met a client who came up with the idea for a Bruce Springsteen guitar. He commissioned this piece. His vision was to stay off the Born in the USA theme. The yellow and blue New Jersey plates play so well off each other. Thanks Jim
License Plate Guitar Artwork Receives Award
1 CommentWhat's the use of getting an award for your work if you can't proudly show it off? Here's a photo of the ribbon I won at the Artsplosure Art Show in Raleigh in May. The Merit Award was one of only 3 awards handed out by the show judges. I am honored to be a recipient. Thanks for allowing me to share my news with you.
