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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 late 50s - 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 sign painting and later, pinstriping. 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. One day, Roy brought in a truck to the shop to be lettered for his employer. 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. Lyle agreed and Mingus paid him 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." Lyle became obsessed and taught himself how to pinstripe. He striped everything that would accept paint, including refrigerators, a water heater, a 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 youth 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 Grand 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 an offer of a gig, 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 became one of his best friends in the business.

From San Joaquin, 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. 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

Lyle Fisk, Kenny Howard, and Ron Muller pose for a photo at Fisk Signs in El Cajon, 1974

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.

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. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Mortier Organ Restoration Project

Lyle Fisk stands next to the T. Mortier 101 key pipe organ his shop has recently restored

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

The Von Dutch Bus Restoration Project

In 2010, pinstriper Steve Kafka bought Kenny Howard's 1953 GM TGH-3102 bus, which Howard used as a shop and living quarters. The bus was on every Steve McQueen movie set other than those which were filmed overseas. It was sold at auction in 2007 for $44,800. Shortly after discovering that the bus had been sold, Kafka contacted the new owners to see if he might have a shot at buying the bus. Kafka paid $200,000 for the bus and then sought out everyone who had been associated with or in reverence of Von Dutch, to help him restore it to its former glory.

Kafka called Fisk to pinstripe and letter some of the interior parts, including a lathe Kenny had installed in the bus which he used to manufacture everything from motorcycle parts to firearms. Lyle's brother Norman filmed a documentary on the bus' restoration called "The Von Dutch Project." Many of the raw interviews from the project can be found on YouTube.

The bus was appraised at over $6,000,000 at its completion and the current asking price is $7,800.800.

The Rat Fink Reunion

In the 80s, Ed Roth began a yearly tradition at his shop south of Los Angeles, California which he dubbed "The Rat Fink Reunion." Roth invited many notables in the business to gather and demonstrate their respective talents. At some reunions as many as seventy auto artists would gather to rub shoulders and meet the giants in the industry. Fisk was at one of the first reunions, asked to demonstrate his woodgraining techniques. It was at this same reunion where Ed Roth, Kenny Howard and Lyle Fisk appeared together on video. The video of the occasion is owned buy Roth's wife and is the only known video where the three are seen together. It can be seen in the documentary film, "The Von Dutch Project."

See Also

Von Dutch
Ed Roth
Kustom Kulture

Recommended Reading

Classic Hot Rods By Bo Bertilsson Paperback – December 10, 1999
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