Danny Whitfield Automotive Artist-Concept Designer
His life has been dedicated to the gasoline-powered auto Henry Ford made famous and millions of people drive each year, The Magnificent Automobile!
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Danny brought his vision of art and cars to the forefront and has been the crucial artist in making automobile art a respected form in the industry. He has a magical talent to bring out the beauty of a vehicle and express it vividly onto canvas. Great wall art for Home Decor and Man Caves.
Danny draws, paint, and does many varieties of wall art from scenic, architectural, to portraits. Nevertheless, his affinity for vehicles is his first love. Believe it or not, he started drawing at age of five. After attending The Center of Creative College in Detroit and Macomb County College in Michigan his affinity for the automobile led him to a career with Ford, General Motors, and other design manufacturers.
Although he enjoyed creating fine art pieces, the art public didn't appear to embrace him with open arms initially. The industry for the most part hadn't expanded its vision yet to see this type of artistry as a valid genre. Since then, and determined not to be held back, Whitfield continued to do his fine art pieces and broadened his efforts to have the automotive art genre be more greatly accepted.
As a result, he is seen as a key artist in moving this art scene forward. His work has been featured as wall hangings, posters, published in magazines, car designs, and highlighted throughout the world. Automotive Art has taken on a new purpose and identity.. No longer perceived or dismissed as cartoonist commercial art, it has earned its legitimate position in the world right next to Norman Rockwell and Pablo Picasso. Danny's love of the automobile is the highest among the most hardcore car aficionados and is perceived as a modern-day Michelangelo. Giving us art in our time that future generations will view in residences, galleries, car shows, and museums.
The excitement in his artwork will make deep internal connections to future generations of the automotive world. He has been published in automobile publications such as Hot Rod, and Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords Hemmings Motor news and many more.
The Corvette Museum featuring the Automotive Art of Danny Whitfield
Revell and Monogram model car kits featuring the Automotive Art of Danny Whitfield!
Danny's work has been proudly featured as cover art on the Revelle and Monogram model car packages. How many of you built model cars as a youngster? I'm sure you knew the feeling of opening the box that contains the car your dreams... Well as Danny built many model cars in his childhood he always hoped to grace the boxes with his own art. Well, thanks to Chris Borris US Product Manager of the Revell model car manufacture that day finally came true.
Dale Earnhardt signing Danny's Corvette prints!
Prior to the death of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, Danny had the privileged opportunity of taking photos of this autograph session. This occasion was for the National Corvette Museum's celebration. As you can see Dale had practically everything in the museum thrown at him for autographs. On the table to right are 2 of Danny's Corvette prints produced for the Corvette Manufacturing factory celebration. Dale was so kind to autograph both of them. Of course, those prints are priceless now!
Danny Whitfield, One of the few artist who created Dodge Viper paintings!
Although
not a member of the "Dream Team" the signatures you see were part of an
event at the 1992 Detroit North American Auto show. Invited as a guest,
Danny was fortunate to have the famous “ Dream Team” sign the artist
proofs of the original 1993 Viper and his rendition of a concept Dodge
Viper. The signatures are as follows:
Robert A Lutz:
Executive vice president (and board member) of Ford Motor Company,
president and then vice chairman (and board member) of Chrysler
Corporation, and vice chairman of General Motors.
Tom Gale:
Automobile designer widely known for his work with the Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth marques
François J. Castaing:
An automotive executive with Renault, American Motors, and Chrysler
Danny Whitfield:
Automotive Artist/Designer Extraordinaire
Vintage art created in 1974!
Authentic hand drawn art by Danny Whitfield in his youth
These
are six surviving sketches drawn by Danny when he was in high school.
He sketched them between 1974 and 1975 while attending Henry Ford High
school in Detroit Michigan. The Mustang you see was the very first
illustration he was paid for! A fellow student asks if he would draw his
brother's Mustang to look exactly like his car. Once complete he showed
the drawing to his friend and he was so overjoyed he paid him $7.00 for
it.
This was the spark of passion for creating art as an
assembly line much like Henry Ford did with his factory. The red
checkmark on the Pontiac Grand Am drawing was genuine credit he received
from a substitute teacher. She saw that he was working hard but not on
his math like he was supposed to. At the time his work portrayed the
drag racing craze of the 60s and '70s, Big engines in small cars, custom
woodies T-buckets, and more.
For those that can remember renowned cartoonist Charles M. Schulz
The famous creator of comic strip Peanuts featuring Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He stated he was laughed at when he informed people what he did for a
living. When he showed them his first paycheck the laughing stopped immediately. If you believe in yourself it means having faith in your own capabilities. It means believing that you CAN do something — that it is within your ability. When you believe in yourself, you can overcome self-doubt, turn a deaf ear to haters and critics, and have the confidence to take action and get things done.
A true believer in Christ, Danny quotes a scripture he carries deep in his heart as an artist... He have filled him with the Spirit of God, with Skill, Ability and Knowledge in all kinds of Crafts to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.
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