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Lyle Fisk
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Lyle Fisk ( born Edward Lyle Fisk, 4 January, 1940 ) is an American pinstriper and Artist, and was a contemporary of Von Dutch, and Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, who became notable in the 1950s and 60s for their contributions to car culture. Fisk is the last living pinstriper of the 60s era. Though Fisk is best known for his pinstriping, he is also sought after for his woodgraining work. Ed Roth once remarked on Lyle's talent for making metal look like wood, "The termites are toothless and jealous."
Lyle Fisk | |
|---|---|
 Lyle Fisk - 1963 - (Photo by Norman Fisk) | |
| Born | Edward Lyle Fisk January 4, 1940 Yuma, Arizona,U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Self-educated |
| Known for | Hot rod art, customizing and pinstriping |
| Movement | Kustom Kulture |
| Website | http://lylefisk.com |
Early Years
Fisk was born in Yuma, Arizona to parents Floyd Leroy Fisk, and Dorothy Irene Fisk, in 1940. His younger brother, Norman Wayne Fisk, also was born in Yuma, in January of 1941. Lyle's father, who went by the name Roy, was a migrant farm worker and truck driver. The family moved often, from Yuma, to Texas, to California, following the harvests. This often meant that the boys had to change schools more than once during the school season. Lyle finally dropped out of school after the 8th grade in Coalinga, California where he was first introduced to the craft of pinstriping and sign painting. Lyle used to ride his bike down an alleyway near his house, past Cecil Mingus' sign shop on his way to school. Some days he would stop and watch what took place in the shop, which he said fascinated him[1]. One day, Roy brought in a truck to the shop to be lettered for the company he was driving for. When the shop owner realized that Lyle was Roy's son, he asked Roy to let Lyle know that he could use some help around the shop. He paid Lyle fifty cents an hour.
While working in the shop, Lyle spotted a Hot Rod magazine which showcased the art of pinstriping. He went to Mingus and asked him how it was done. Mingus brought him a pinstriping brush, showed him how to load it with paint and demonstrated a few turns and lines. Afterward, he handed Lyle the brush and said, "The rest is up to you."[2] Lyle became obsessed and taught himself how to pinstripe. He striped everything that would accept paint, including refrigerators, the water heater, the bathtub, his mother's stove, classmate's tennis shoes, and of course, cars. He striped his own car,a 1948 Chevy coupe, and drove it to the local bank in Coalinga, a popular hang out. While the pinstriping on the Chevy, "Probably looked like a chicken had been scratching on it," Lyle said, the locals went crazy for it. Thus began Fisk's career as a pinstriper.
Developing The Art
Lyle's interest in the Kustom Kulture was unquenchable. He spent much of his time going to swap meets and car shows including the Gran National Roadster Show in Oakland, California. Lyle was one of the crew members for George Barris and helped set up displays. At these shows, Lyle saw many examples of pinstriping, flame jobs, scallops, gold leaf, woodgraining, and sign work. He would later practice all of these on some of the most famous Kustoms built by the best known customizers, including George Barris himself.
Lyle also had an interest in music and played guitar in an instrumental band that used to perform at Pismo beach. It was in Pismo that he was approached by Chuck Negron who had his own band. Lyle modestly declined telling Chuck that he 'wasn't that good,' and only knew three chords. Chuck responded that that was pretty much all any rock and roll guitar player knew. Chuck went on to form Three Dog Night and Lyle went on to be a pinstriper.
Lyle moved to the San Joaquin valley near Fresno and hung out his shingle. The first time he ever heard the name "Von Dutch" was when a customer asked him if he could "Von Dutch" his car. Lyle had no idea what that meant and asked the man to show him. It was then he discovered Kenny Howard's work and realized that they were on a similar trajectory. It was near this time that Lyle began to notice that he was getting referrals from Los Angeles. Inquiring further, he discovered that Ed Roth was sending customers to him. They became good friends and Lyle says that Roth was one of his best friends in the business.
From San Joaqin, Lyle moved back to Yuma to work with a local sign painter there, Barney McClasky. It was at a shop that they worked at together where he expanded his knowledge to include woodgraining, hand-lettering, gold leaf, and design. A sign painter had to work fast in order to make profit. At that time, it was common for grocery stores to seek out the services of sign painters to letter price and sale signs[3]. The orders came in daily and the work was performed on butcher paper, tacked above produce displays and in store front windows. Though he developed his strength in pinstriping, Lyle learned many disciplines of the sign trade. Later he would use all of the skills learned during these formative years to produce a formidable body of work, some of which still survives.
Fisk's Shops
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After a couple of years, Fisk got married and moved to El Cajon, California and started his own sign shop on El Cajon Boulevard. It was during this time that Lyle finally met Kenny Howard - AKA - Von Dutch. Lyle often visited Kenny in the L.A. area where he lived in a modified bus. 50 years later, Lyle would later work on the restoration of the bus. It was during this time that William F. Harrah called Lyle to come to Reno to stripe some of the cars in his collection. Harrah's middle name, coincidentally, was Fisk. Fisk pinstriped Harrah's cars for almost a decade.
In 1975, Fisk moved his shop to Lemon Grove, California on Lester Avenue, a few dozen feet from the early Taylor Guitars factory. Business was brisk and included signs, graphics and woodgraining work but it was always the pinstriping that brought the customers. in 1979, Ted Gildred brought Lyle his 1969 T70 MK IIIB Lola to have a fresh set of racing stripes and pinstriping applied. Gildred raced the car for several years before he died. The car was auctioned in 2010 at the Pebble Beach action in 2010 for $485,000. [4]
In 1982, Lyle Moved his shop from Lemon Grove back to El Cajon, on Benedict Avenue, behind what was then the Cunningham BMW dealership on Johnson Avenue. It was here that he restored the T. Mortier pipe organ, replete with veriegated, gold and silver leaf and airbrushed murals. Lyle's reputation compelled many collectors to seek him out and would fly him out to pinstripe cars they were restoring. Many of these were destined for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance auto show near Monterey, California, where the rules exclude cars that have been seen anywhere else.
In 1987, Lyle moved his shop from El Cajon to Ramona California where he lived. The shop had a couple of locations, the first on Avenue D, next door to noted hot rod artist, cartoonist, and co-founder of the Over The Hill Gang car club, John Pickle. Pickle's shop was called "The Toy Store" where he built custom cars. Fisk finally closed his shop in 2005 and has since worked out of his house focusing on specialty woodgraining projects. He still occasionally pinstripes cars and makes original art panels.
The Mortier Organ Restoration Project
From 1983 - 1984, Lyle's shop in El Cajon worked almost non-stop restoring a late 19th century 101 key pipe organ, originally built by the T. Mortier company of Antwerp, Belgium and owned by Mike Ames of San Diego. The project involved every aspect of Lyle's craft including, airbrush mural work, veriegated, gold and silver leaf, and standard paint work. Lyle contracted a cabinet shop in Lemon Grove to strip off the old paint, after meticulously documenting its current condition, and priming the pieces so that Lyle and his crew could apply the base coats and art work. It was finally re-assembled and displayed near the end of 1984. European experts who consulted on the project claimed it was the finest restoration of its kind. Ames later updated the organ to accept midi control[5]
The Von Dutch Bus Restoration Project
See Also
Recommended Reading
Classic Hot Rods By Bo Bertilsson
Pinstriping Masters II: More Techniques, Tricks, and Special F/X for Laying Down the Line - Paperback – August 15, 2008
Pinstripe Planet: Fine Lines From the World’s Best - Hardcover - Korero Books
External Links
Lyle Fisk Pinstriper - Facebook Page
Meet one of the Godfather's of Hot Rod Pinstriping
Lyle Fisk, Maricopa's master of auto embellishment
Steady as he goes, Lyle Fisk is the Patron Saint of Pinstriping
The Pinstriper – Lyle Fisk
Charities benefit as hot rods and classics line Centre Street in Fernandina Beach Oct. 17
1965 VW Beetle Sedan For Sale