Racing Art   continued..
Spud Lee Murphy: Her Story

Racerchicks was lucky enough to find an artist who's talent is natural. Spud Lee Murphy is a Hot Rod/Pin Up artist out of Portland, Oregon. Her work can only be described as classic, daring and beautifully done.  Her attention to detail is amazing - and we are honored to feature her work.  This is Spud's story:

I was born in New Orleans La, December 17th 1979. My mother (who'd prefer to remain anonymous) is an Exotic Dancer and my Father, only my Mom knows. At 16 I hit the road, was traveling through Denver when I was accosted by this kid, Skeeter Joplin who was my age and sported a Brooklyn accent. His mouth was almost as filthy as mine and we quickly became pals. I got him fired from his job as a janitor at some scary mortuary and we decided to leave Colorado before the snow.

Passing through Arizona (and very hungry) we took refuge at this Buddhist monastery/outreach center and made the acquaintance of a young ascetic named Jethro Grady who was ladling soup. He didn't seem cut from the same cloth as the rest of his religious brothers and it didn't take long before the three of us jumped a train to Oregon.

One sunny Portland day (about 4 1/2 years ago) while fishing illegally from the docks we decided to start our own Rockabilly band. Why Rockabilly? Well, our hair was already greasy (Murrays-heavy not the light), we already owned engineer boots, jeans and leather jackets. Why a band? Well, Jethro is still an Idealist-at-heart and needs a cause and I enjoy a good fight and have you listened to the sad state of radio these days!? We arm-wrestled for our respective instruments. No one wanted the guitar because of what it's done to Keith Richards.

My first artistic forays were the backs of our leather jackets. I used leather-friendly paints and painted an old-school sailor jerry-type scroll and dagger design with the band name, Dizzy Elmer. Everybody loved them and wanted me to paint theirs. From there I painted our bass-drum heads and a couple for other people, but only at a good price because Dizzy Elmer is an all-consuming monster, devouring all my time and if I'm sacrificing Dizzy time, someone's gonna pay.

As the band became better known, people began asking for CDs. We'd been playing alot with Big Sandy and Pals and it just made too much sense not to have Wally Hersom (bass player for Big Sandy) produce the first album. The upright bass is such a hard instrument to record and we knew we'd have a sympathetic ear in Wally. So we traveled down to Los Angeles and did it in a week. We got so many good reviews for This Bad Dog (BlackCat Rockabilly Europe called it "one of the best CDs issued in 2000") we made a second one, Crying To The Moon, less than a year later. Audio clips from both albums can be heard at www.dizzyelmer.com as well as video of my upright on fire (as I'm playing it!!) and lots of photos.

I've done all the Artwork on both albums as well as the promotional posters for record stores. Not long ago (2 months?) Alan Hatcher from www.hotrodbettie.com commissioned a Hot Rod Pin-up painting from me just on the basis of the album art on the second album. He gave me complete artistic liberties and we made a verbal agreement over the phone. That was my first Hot Rod painting.

The band all live together in the same house. These guys are my best friends, Skeeter and Jethro. Without them I'd still be on the street. My time is completely devoted to Dizzy Elmer and my Hot Rod Pin-ups. It seems all I do these days is play music and paint, music and paint. The money I make on my paintings goes directly to promoting the band. We have a manager now and we're actively shopping for a record label.

First and foremost, I'm a Dizzy. Everything else comes out of that identity. I'm the bass player in the greatest rock and roll band in the world and I'm so excited to be where I am. It's my great calling in life.

As a painter, I'm very choosey about what I paint. For instance, I have no interest in painting 1970's Hot Rods nor modern, Sports Illustrated swimsuit girls. There are plenty of those artists around. I paint vintage scenes in a vintage painting style.

My favorite Hot Rods are '32--'34 Ford Coupes and my favorite years for Pin-ups are the 1940's and 1950's. There's so much within those years, I'll never run out of subject matter to paint. I am interested in painting some pre-1960 custom and classic cars so if the right offer comes along we'll see. I owe alot of my Hot Rod interest and knowledge to my Hot Rod mentor and good friend, Andy "Bo" Ganderton of PPG.

I paint all my work with acrylic colors-mostly Windsor & Newton-on 1/4" MDF, as opposed to canvas which can warp and I don't care for the texture the cloth makes. 32"x42" is the size I prefer to work in. I paint in the living room under natural light with either Marty Robbins, Roy Orbison, Dion, Hank Williams, The Platters, or Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys playing in the background.

My biggest influence is 1950's Gil Elvgren. I learned everything I know by studying his work. No one can touch him in terms of grace, theme and color. Petty's faces are too much alike and there's a kind of cartoon quality to his work. His girls are either in ballet slippers or on the phone. Varga's legs are too long and I've never been much of a fan of the airbrush-I'm speaking personal preference here.

The official Dizzy Elmer vehicle is a 1951 Buick Roadmaster-as original as we can keep it. My other favorite car is a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville 4-door. Even though Dizzy Elmer someday will be huge, I'll still be painting Hot Rod Pin-ups----only then I'll give them away to friends because I won't need the money--- but I'll save a couple for the Dizzy Elmer Wing of the Smithsonian when that opens.