Dozens of hotrods, muscle cars and rare rides were available for viewing at the World of Wheels Show in Milwaukee.
But, some of the coolest things there didn’t even have wheels.
“I am one of those people that believes pinstriping is not something that should be delegated or relegated to the car industry,” says DeWayne Connot.
You may have seen pinstriping on cars. But DeWayne – an artist in the medium – says it should be everywhere, from the side of a trashcan to your living room wall.
DeWayne showed us a piece he worked on specifically for this show.
“It has all the different effects of faux caning, faux marble, faux gold leaf… and the miniature pinstriping on the brush handle that is one of my signature traits.”
DeWayne came all the way from Philadelphia to join the Pinstripe Legends as they painted during the World of Wheels show. Plenty of others traveled from even further away.
“As I’ve described it to someone just the other day, it’s no longer what I do, it’s who I am,” DeWayne says. “So I can’t imagine not doing what we do.”
A lot of the main core of the Pinstripe Legends are based right here in Wisconsin. They meet in Brookfield to paint every week.
Ray Drea is one of the original members of the club.
“When I was first learning this in the mid-70s, there were a lot of stripers in the area, like easily a half dozen who were doing this wild and crazy stuff,” he recalls.
Ray learned his craft from them.
“You develop not only this mentorship, but these are your heroes doing this cool artwork,” Ray says. “They usually end up being your early influence from a design aspect, too.”
There are fewer pinstripers now than when Ray was coming up. But the Pinstripe Legends are trying to keep the craft alive.
“It’s just a privilege to be surrounded by all this talent all the time,” says Lance Knight, one of the youngest members of the club, at just 21 years old. Lance started when he was 10 years old, and still remembers his first panel.
“It’s kind of funny because it’s kind of like this, where I was at a panel jam and I was here and Ray was over there and I remember when I was done with it, I was like, ‘what do you think, Ray?’” Lance recalls. “He didn’t even look up from his panel he was working on, just goes, ‘looks good!’”
Lance is now studying product design in college so he can use his artistry in his career.
“We’ve got such a talented group, it’s less of a proud thing and more of a luck thing,” Ray says. “Like, ‘wow am I lucky to be a part of this!’”
And Pinstripe Legends’ annual gathering at the World of Wheels show is a spectacle of that talent. Dozens of pieces were up for auction, and the money goes to a very worthy cause.
“The money we raised for Children’s Hospital, we’ve directed it to go specifically to the art therapy department,” Ray says.
Christine Baranoucky at Children’s says the event has raised more than $924,000 over the past 20 years.
“It’s incredible to see their passion for their art and what they’re doing, and then they transfer that and give back to the community through Children’s Wisconsin,” Christine says. “It’s just really a beautiful way to express their generosity.”
This year, the auction broke the $1 million mark. A single donor made a $7,000 gift.
It’s a mission that brings a tear to DeWayne’s eye.
“About 35 years ago, I had a little girl that was about four months old. She died of a genetic disorder, so for me to raise money for the Children’s Hospital is something that is very close to my heart as well,” he says.
These painters are just one big, extended family.
DeWayne says, “You can’t put a price tag on it.”
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