Corvette-inspired license plate guitar for the man who has everything

First I have to say no gift is possible without good friends and a great desire to share.

A few months back I had the pleasure of working with Ray Evernham and his people at IGNITE, a community center in Davidson, NC for young adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger's Syndrome (AS).

I donated one of my license plate guitars to to be auctioned at their fundraising event in 2014. When two people raised the bidding on my Brad Paisley license plate guitar to $5,000, I agreed to make a second piece if both bidders would donate $5,000 each. It was such an honor to help raise money for this important cause.

The second guitar would be a custom piece, created as a gift for the very generous client who was not in the room but made the donation.

I always need the help of others to create a piece for a special person, I have to thank Dale Ledbetter for letting me pick his brain. This is the process that makes the gift special. This would be a gift for a man who has everything. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t creating something he already had.

That is no easy task, as the gentleman owns the greatest collection of guitars I’ve ever seen, as well as the world’s largest collection of classic Corvettes. Dale invited me to see these collections. I was in awe.

During the interview, I asked Dale which car was my client’s favorite. He showed me a Black 1967 Corvette Stingray 427 with a white stinger down the hood.

That was my inspiration. Using a guitar shape as my canvas, I set out to combine my client’s love of Corvettes with his love of music. Then I used vintage auto parts and license plates to bring the piece to life. Here are the details:

• I used license plates to spell out 1967 for the year and 427 for the engine at the top to represent the keys.
• I spelled out CORVETTE down the neck with vintage tags with a red, white and blue underlay to give it the classic Chevrolet feel.
• The body and hood stinger is created from license plates that are sculpted and shaped to resemble his favorite car.
• I used a 1967 Corvette gas door with the crossed flags logo -- one of the iconic parts of the car -- in the center hole.
• The original Corvette designer, Zora Arkus-Duntov, is featured on the guitar body, as Dale explained our client was very fond of him. I used vintage General Motors emblems to spell out his name at the bridge position.
• At the bottom of the piece I wrote out STINGRAY in license plates to complete the face.
• Around the outside of the piece I spelled out "worlds Largest Corvette Collection. Its on of the clients many distinguished accomplishments.

I would like to thank everyone who helped make this piece so special.

Wedding gift tells couple's story in license plates

My client, Robin, and her fiancé were at their favorite bar during a trip to in Nashville when she saw a piece of my artwork hanging on the wall. She was immediately captivated.

After returning home, she googled "license plate guitar" and found my website. She asked about creating a piece to tell their story as a wedding gift.

I quickly agreed. My artwork is perfect for telling a personal story about people and the things they love. This one-of-a-kind, handcrafted piece of art can't be bought in a store.

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During a phone interview with Robin, I learned about all the places the couple have lived and visited over the years. Than I added elements that are special to them in a priority order on the face of the license plate guitar.

Robin told me they are from North Carolina, Michigan and Pennsylvania. They've been to Tennessee. love Nashville and Estes Park CO. I used all those states on the face of the piece. They've taken many trips to the Outer Banks NC - often known as “OBX”. I featured their wedding date at top on the keys June 13-2015. Pirates is written in license plates down the neck because they are big baseball fans. The number 57 appears in the center hole because it holds special meaning to them.

On the bridge I spelled out their names Robin + Sean. At the bottom appears their family name Cowan.

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The guitar was a hit. You can read how much the custom wedding gift was appreciated in their testimonial, which appears here on my website. Thank you, Robin and Sean, for allowing me to create this gift as start your lives together.

Good things come to those who wait

I have a client who ordered a license plate guitar featuring the Beatles and Abbey Road last year. When most clients order a custom gift for a birthday or special occasion they say they can wait. But once they get the artwork they have a hard time keeping the secret. 

I always like to check back with my clients to make sure they are happy and to see how the artwork was received. I would email Sonya from time to time to see if she was able to hold out. She finally gave it to him last night, and proudly shared this photo.

To my surprise she did and in the process I made a new friend. We would share funny stories about what was going on here and there and life in general.

I never knew that being an artist would create a pathway to all these great people and stories. I feel very blessed to have the best clients in the world.

So remember: good things do come to those who wait.

License plate guitar on Please Subscribe documentary

A few years ago, I made a custom license plate guitar for You Tube star Joe Penna, aka MysteryGuitarMan. He has featured it on his videos in the past. Like this shot from this clip:

And this one.

When my daughter told me the guitar art I created for him was on You Tube, I assumed it was another one of his videos. I was wrong.

Joe Penna is featured in a new documentary called Please Subscribe:  A Documentary About You Tubers. My guitar is shown in the clip previewing the interview with Joe Penna. I am always thankful and grateful to see my work featured. 

Red Robin customer designs his own artwork

My client, Rick, contacted me after he went to a Red Robin restaurant near his home and saw the commercial work I've done for the restaurant chain as part of their nationwide restoration. He found me through a quick google search.

He is a big fan of the Drive-By Truckers and wanted a piece of art to represent them for his home. We spoke on the phone for about 30 minutes. I took in all the things he loves about the band during the call.

After searching for vintage tags and getting the colors to match the the flavor of the band, I started creating the piece.

I love working with clients to create that custom piece of artwork that you can't buy in a store.

Thanks, Rick, for working with me and sending the photos of the piece in your home, and for sharing your comments below.

"Peter. Looks fantastic! You really nailed it. Thanks so much. Attached are several shots of the piece in situ (in my study).  It’s really fantastic.  Couldn’t be happier with the way it came out.  Thanks again."

Clients with Guitar Art

Here are a few of my clients with the photos they have sent over showing them and their prized license plate art during the holiday. This is why I enjoy being a professional artist. 

Thanks for a great year!

License plate art for a bass player who loves the Red Sox

My client's husband plays a Hofner Bass and loves the Boston Red Sox. She wanted me to incorporate tags from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and North Carolina - the states in which they have lived. 

He loves the Red Sox, is a big Carl Yastrzemski and Big Papi fan. He also went to NC State and has two kids.

All these points are featured in the piece. At the top on the keys you have the months his kids were born. Coming down the neck is RED SOX. The pick guard is his favorite logo. On the speed knobs are Yaz's number 5, Big Papi's number 27, and the NC State logo. 

The Hofner Bass style is my canvas. The tags used in this piece where very hard to come by. I had to call in a few favors to get them. The Fenway tag is nearly impossible to obtain. I waited most than one month for the Massachusetts Red Sox Jimmy V tag.

All in all, this is one special piece. My client loved it. Any Red Sox fan would too.

Van Halen artwork request

My client from Montana requested a piece to commerate their night at a Van Halen concert. They are big fans and got to sing part of a song on stage with the band.

They like Van Halen's Sammy Hagar era, and asked me to mix that in, if possible.

I started with the classic Frankenstrat shape that Eddie Van Halen made famous as my canvas. I featured Montana tags up top because that's where my client is from. I spelled out Hagar on the keys at top. Van Halen is written on the neck. I recreated the Frankenstrat completely from license plates and used to of there album names as pickups. I used California tags to create the body shape in honor of the band's beginnings there.

My client loved it, and responded this way:  "I LOVE my new guitar art! Absolutely stunning and one of a kind!" 

I'm glad he liked it. I like it too.

License plate guitar for Bruce Springsteen fan

I met Glen and Pam at an art show in Raleigh NC several years ago, before they moved to North Carolina. They are from MA and RI, and seemed to have an instant interest in my work because of their vast collection of license plates. The first piece I created was a colorful array of New England-themed plates that they had saved over the years.

This time, Glen wanted me to do a Bruce Springsteen theme showcasing songs and all of the shows they had been to. He hunted down several small tags to recreate his story. It features the locations of shows around the outside of the body. The face has many of their favorite songs, and the pick guard is the boys in the band.

I have to give him all the credit for being able to think this one up. He has really grasped the concept of my work, and taken it to a new level.

Thanks for working with me on this piece.

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Kenny Chesney license plate guitar

Kenny Chesney has always been a favorite of mine, so I was thrilled when a client asked me to create a license plate guitar featuring his favorite Kenny Chesney songs. I chose the acoustic model because I often see Chesney playing it at his concerts. And it has the most room to feature the song titles my client wanted. 

My client asked me to feature Flora Bama, Ivans , The Life and Boats. The last one appears on the side. I also added How Forever Feels because it's a favorite of mine. Palm trees, dophins, and the FL "One Happy Island" saying gives it a real, no shoes, no shirt' kinda feel. 

License plate art 2014 holiday gifts

My workshop has been a busy place. I've captured just a few of the orders I've created this season for corporate cand personal clients. Take a look at some of the 2014 holiday gifts I've been sending out.

This Mack truck was conceived after a conversation with a towing company. It is being given to their owner for the holidays.

The piece is BEAUTIFUL.  We had our gift exchange yesterday and my boss was very happy with it, loved the art made out of license plates....i dare say the perfect gift.

Lauria Bennett's Garage & Towing, Inc.

(800) 832-6917

A client saw my guitar in a Florida Red Robin restaurant, and asked me to recreate and personalize it for her son.

A Civil War buff is the recipient of this Nevada themed guitar. it features his family's last name on the neck.

A former client comissioned this Chicken Fried themed guitar for a family member who is a Zac Brown Band fan. Note how I wrote out the words to the song on the face of the acoustic.

This was a special piece for a client who is givin it to her loved one, an avid Beatles fan.

This one is personal. I was given a violin by my 92-year-old mother in law, who used it as a child. I used it to create this piece out of New York license plates, where she lived most of her life. It is proudly displayed in her apartment.

License plate art corporate gift

Recently I was contacted by a towing company who challenged me to move beyond guitars and create a meaning holiday gift for their owner. I loved their idea. She wanted the art to feature their new Mack dump truck. She sent me a few photos of the truck, and I created this 3D piece of license plate art that they could proudly display in their corporate headquarters. 

The piece measures 40x20x3 inches. I chose the green to match the truck, and painstakingly recreated the details, including the tires, the lights and the dark green shading on the truck. MACK is spelled out in license plates as well. I love the way the light reflects on the boom to make it look even more realistic. The photo below shows that the piece is 3-D. You can see the edge that brings this piece off the wall.

I just shipped the piece and can't wait to hear their response. This makes me want to expand my horizons even more with my license plate art. If you have any suggestions or ideas for corporate gifts for your business, feel free to challenge me.

License plate guitars from Red Robin Restaurant: customized with your plates

My client walked into a Red Robin restaurant in Florida recently, and saw one of my license plate guitars on the wall. She knew it would be a perfect Christmas gift for her music lover son. She did  a quick google search and found me. 

After visiting my website, she reached out and texted a photo of my Eric Clapton piece. Here's the photo:

She told me about the license plates she's saved over the years. She wanted to customize the piece and add her son's name. My answer? Yes you can! Here's a photo of the final piece:

Hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind gift

If you see a license plate guitar at a Red Robin and want to customize it for that special someone in your life who deserves a hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind gift, personalized with your states and sayings remember: yes you can!

License plate guitar: perfect personalized wedding gift

They're the couple who have everything, or whom you want to give that something extra special. Several of my clients have come to me when the ordinary wedding gift won't do. If you want to think outside the box, we can work together to create a personalized wedding gift that tells the couple's story. My license plate guitars reflect their personality, and highlight the things that have meaning to them.

On each one, I weave in the states to show where they were born and raised, and where they started their married life together. I feature their wedding date, their names, special sayings, and their wedding songs. Take a look at the personalized wedding gifts I've created, and read about the details you should look for on each one. I'm told by my clients that these personalized wedding gifts are on proud display in the newlyweds' homes.  Give a personalized wedding gift whose joy will travel along with your favorite newlywed couple on their journey through life together.

Above, a personalized wedding gift for a yoga-loving couple who have spent time in Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia. They were married in North Carolina's Outer Banks, better known a OBX, in 2012. A yoga saying and sign are prominently featured in the center hole and on the bridge.

In this personalized wedding gift, the wedding couple was from Arizona. My client requested that the bride's name be featured around the center hole, and their married name be on the bridge. I captured one of their special photographs that the bride took in the center hole. My client downloaded it from one of their social media networks.

The mom of this wedding couple commissioned this personalized wedding gift. Her daughter and son-in-law met at the University of South Carolina and are die-hard Gamecock fans. The Gamecock mascot is named on the bridge. One of their wedding photos appears in the center hole.

A couple from California and North Carolina are the proud recipients of this personalized wedding gift. Their wedding song, Crazy Love, appears around the side of the license plate guitar. Their name is featured along the bridge.

License plate banjos at Bluegrass festival

The News & Observer features one of the license plate banjos I'll be bringing to the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh this weekend.

I missed this show last year, and I am really looking forward to showing my work at the Wide Open Art Market this year. I've got some great license plate banjos and a special bluegrass license plate violin.  It's an honor to participate in the Wide Open Art Market, which is billed as "an intimate showcase designed to recognize North Carolina’s talented and enthusiastic arts community and feature unique artisans from across the United States." I'll be in good company. 

Here's a sampling of what you'll see when you visit my booth.

Here's a shot of my work from the News & Observer, in case you miss it online.

The write up on my license plate banjo at the Bluegrass festival in Raleigh.

Front page of the News & Observer Life section features my license plate banjo.

Some of my license plate guitars on display at the Bluegrass festival in Raleigh.

License plate guitars in Nashville, TN

I had a great time this past weekend at the Tennessee Fall Craft Fair, where I had a large selection of license plate guitars for sale. The crowds were friendly, and everyone I met was very enthusiastic about my work. Here is an example of one of the license plate guitars I created for the Nashville show. You can see more here.

This was one of the license plate guitars I sold in Nashville at the Tennessee Fall Craft Fair.

Three days in Nashville go by fast. The weather was perfect, I met terrific people from nearby Franklin, TN, up North from New York and New Jersey (where I just shipped one that was purchased at the show), and as far away as Canada. At night, my wife Debbe and I enjoyed some great meals, and watched the bands on Broadway. I even caught sight of one the license plate guitars I sold to one of the bar owners. Here's a photo of my guitar in Legends Corner, the bar at the corner of 4th and Broadway. Let me know if you see any more of my license plate guitars around Nashville.

Thank you to the Tennessee Craft people who shared this photo of my Blues Brothers Guitar on their Facebook page.

Next week, I'll be at the Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh. Hope to see you there.

Graduation license plate art gift tells grad's story

This license plate art tells the story of a student graduating from Ole Miss this year, and his love of life. With the help of one really cool mom -- and I mean that -- I was able to recreate his college experiance. I started out by spelling Ole Miss down the neck, then used my signature flag style as a template to insert all his stops during his college journey. 

Look closely and you'll see all the states he visited during his college years. You'll find Alabama's Auburn logo, Florida (because that's where he from), Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Louisana. Then I added the fun stuff. His favorite drinks -- Surfer on Acid, Landshark and Stellla beer -- are featured around the outside.

Finally, his mom told me he has a saying that I featured on the bridge: "The adventure begins when something goes wrong." I spelled this out with many small license plate letters rather than set into another tag as a base.  His graduation date and fraternity are featured on the headstock and keys.

When my client Lori received her license plate guitar, she was kind enough to call me to express her thanks, and sent an email to sum up her gratitude. 

“Words cannot express about this magnificent piece. My son is graduating from Ole Miss and this piece tells the story of his life and journey at school. He will have it forever, thanks to Peter.  Thank you, Peter, for being part of his journey”   Lori 

Thank you, Lori, for giving me that honor.

Harley-Davidson License plate art

This Harley-Davidson license plate art will be on display in a restaurant near the Harley-Davidson factory in York, PA. It features Pennsylvania tags in the signature orange and black colors of the motorcycle company. The wings are representative of their iconic symbol. Check out the gallery below.

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License plate guitar art at Tennessee Craft Fair 2014

I was very excited to learn today that I have been accepted to exhibit my license plate guitar art at the Tennessee Craft Fair in Nashville on September 26, 27, and 28.  Nashville is one of my favorite cities, and I've participated in this show twice. I didn't make it last year because of my Red Robin commission work. However, I am looking forward to hanging out on the Lawn at Centennial Park and meeting the people who lives in this great town. Here's a sample of some of the work I'll be bringing. If you'll be there, let me know below and be sure to say hello.