Motorsports Artist Garry Hill Exhibits Artwork at International Motorsports HOF: Motorsports artist Garry Hill will exhibit his paintings and limited edition prints featuring the rich tradition and history of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing Oct 20-23 at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. "Today's sophisticated version of the sport is every bit as exciting as the rough and tumble early days. The current teams sporting corporate America's colors seem far removed from their thrown together beginnings. However, the more things change they remain the same. The need for speed today is the same as yesterday. The arenas may have changed, the names may have changed, but the desire is the same – Get to the Finish Line First! The sport has a bright future as well as a past rich with legends and great moments that will live forever", said Hill. Hill's paintings and prints capture such moments as Richard Petty's 200th victory in the 1984 "Firecracker 400", Dale Earnhardt in "The Great American Racer" winning the 1998 Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon victorious in "Brickyard Thunder" the inaugural Brickyard 400, Bill Elliott winning the "Winston Million" in the 1985 "Southern 500", Dale Earnhardt's remarkable trip through the grass at Charlotte Motor Speedway to win "The Winston" all-star race in 1987 and many more including moments from Talladega Superspeedway. Limited edition fine art prints from the original paintings will be available to collectors personally hand signed by the winning drivers. Hill of Mooresville, NC remarked, "I see these paintings and prints as a tribute to the people and the machines that have made the sport so great," says artist Garry Hill, of Mooresville, North Carolina. "A picture is worth a thousand words so this is my way of telling the story of NASCR Sprint Cup Racing." To learn more about the artworks and see the subjects of his original paintings and prints visit www.garryhill.com (Please note the two "R"s in Garry).
IMHOF race week hours: Friday, October 21 and Saturday, October 22 from 7 am to 7 pm and Sunday, October 23 from 7 am to 2 pm.(International Motorsports Hall of Fame)(10-21-2011)

Thomas Kinkade paints tribute to Talladega Superspeedway: The Thomas Kinkade Company (TKC) announced the release of Thomas Kinkade's newest image entitled, "This is Talladega". The image is one of the artist's most exciting sports paintings to date. The rumble and roar of the cars is almost heard as they cross the finish line in this depiction of Talladega. Thomas Kinkade portrays the "Dominator" of Talladega, Dale Earnhardt, the famed #3 car, as taking the checkered flag to win the race. Thom painted this image to make the viewer feel the thrill of the finish. Race fans will also notice the artist has blended the past with present, making it a timeless part of each fan's favorite memory of the track. During race weekend, Oct 21st through 23rd, The Thomas Kinkade Company and the local Thomas Kinkade Gallery of Birmingham will be onsite at Talladega Superspeedway selling a variety of products showcasing this image.(TSS)(10-21-2011)

Sam Bass designs air show trailer: Sam Bass, the first officially licensed NASCAR artist, and Steve Kapur, pilot and marketing officer for the GEICO Skytypers, pose in front of one of Sam¹s latest artistic designs. Sam's specialty in motorsports and music related projects has recently expanded into the air show business. The GEICO Skytypers added a 53¹ tractor/trailer to their program for the 2011 season. The team tasked Sam with utilizing his expertise to design elements highlighting the various portions of their air show performance. "I¹ve had the privilege of working with Sam on a number of projects over the past several years," states Kapur. ³Once again, he has perfectly captured the essence of our program by utilizing our existing branding assets and combining them with the unique physical components of our program." The GEICO Skytypers, the only civilian squadron currently flying WWII aircraft in air shows, will perform at 12 air shows throughout the 2011 season, many of which will honor the Navy Centennial of Aviation. They kick off their air show season this week [April 9th] at the Charleston Air Expo in Charleston, SC.(Sam Bass)(4-7-2011)

Sam Bass Slated For Carolina Christmas At CMS: Sam Bass, NASCAR’s first officially licensed artist, and the official artist of Charlotte Motor Speedway, has contributed his artistic talent and graphic design expertise to Carolina Christmas at Charlotte Motor for the 2010 holiday season. “Carolina Christmas is a wonderful concept – I have been creating art for Charlotte Motor Speedway since 1985 and the holidays are my favorite time of year,” Sam Bass said. “This event offers the best of both worlds – my home track and the opportunity to share the spirit of the holidays with thousands of guests attending the event.”
Bass, known for his innovative race car designs, has designed a 2010 Toyota Camry pace car for Carolina Christmas. The holiday-themed pace car features the speedway’s mascot Lug Nut and a host of holiday characters. Bass’ whimsical design may be seen at holiday parades throughout the region. “Having created Lug Nut for the speedway in the early 1990s, it gave me great pleasure to feature him on this holiday-themed car,” Bass said from his studio, across the street from the famed track. “The holidays are all about children and this design speaks to the child in all of us! I have been creating holiday themed art for a number of years and Carolina Christmas is a perfect place to showcase my Santas & Snowmen Collection!”
Bass will set up a “North Pole” art gallery in the Cup Garage during Carolina Christmas where he will offer select merchandise, including his Santas & Snowmen Collection. Limited edition prints, posters, holiday cards and other gift items will be on sale. Sam himself will stop by the booth periodically during the course of the event to visit with fans. Please check www.sambass.com for his appearance schedule. The main Sam Bass Gallery is located at the corner of Morehead Road and Performance Drive, across from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Show your Carolina Christmas ticket at the main gallery for a 15% discount on purchases made between November 22 and December 23.(11-30-2010)

Sam Bass Creates 50th Anniversary Cover For AMS: This Sunday marks a special event in Atlanta Motor Speedway history. The Emory Healthcare 500 marks the speedway ’s 50th year of hosting NASCAR’s top series, and as part of the celebration track officials have asked Sam Bass, NASCAR’s top artist to illustrate the souvenir program cover. Bass began creating souvenir program cover art for Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1993 and has completed a dozen cover illustrations to date, including this week’s 50th anniversary cover. Bass captures such key moments as the inaugural Dixie 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, superstars David Pearson and Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott’s The Winston victory in 1986, Richard Petty’s tribute lap during his final NASCAR race, which would also be where Alan Kulwicki won the 1992 NASCAR Cup championship, and Kevin Harvick’s emotional 2001 victory over Jeff Gordon. The track highlights are featured in the stylized gold “50” from the speedway’s anniversary logo. This compelling composition also features Dale Earnhardt’s #3 Wrangler Chevy, racing side-by-side with Jimmie Johnson’s #48 Kobalt Tools Chevy and Fred Lorenzen’s #26 Lafayette Ford in an era-spanning depiction right out of Sam’s imagination! Fireworks in the night sky light up the track around these cars commemorating the 2009 Labor Day night race.
Fans can get their programs signed and meet Bass on race weekend as follows:
Saturday, Sept. 4 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Speedway Children’s Charity Rig at AMS
Sunday, Sept. 5 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Coca-Cola Fan Stage. More info and an image at Sambass.com.(9-3-2010)

Sam Bass To Commemorate 100th Race at Bristol: To commemorate the 100th race at Bristol Motor Speedway, track officials called NASCAR’s first officially licensed artist, Sam Bass to capture the track’s decades-long racing heritage. Since 1995, Bass has created original illustrations for the Tennessee track, including spring and fall program cover art as well as the cover illustration for the inaugural NHRA event held there in July 1999. Bass’ artwork titled “100!” for the Irwin Tools Night Race, combines historic and modern-day race cars, side-by-side, taking the green flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. His use of color and black and white pays tribute to the heritage of the track while looking into the future. For race fans who have watched NASCAR grow from its humble roots to the lifestyle it is today, “100!” is a must-have souvenir. Fore more information to purchase the poster and locations of appearances/autographs by Sam Bass, see my Image Links pageThe illustration will be available for purchase as a fine art poster at www.sambass.com.
Throughout the race week at Bristol Bass will be making appearances. Fans are encouraged to drop by for a visit and an autograph. Here is a quick look at the artist’s itinerary:
Wednesday, August 18 6 - 8 p.m. Food City Family Race Night, Knoxville, TN
Thursday, August 19 5 - 8 p.m. Food City Family Race Night, Bristol, TN/VA
Friday, August 20 noon - 1 p.m. SPEED Stage at BMS
Saturday, August 21 5 - 6 p.m. Speedway Children’s Charities Rig at BMS.(Sam Bass PR)(8-18-2010)

Great deal on limited-edition NASCAR prints by Garry Hill: Garry Hill, whose motorsports paintings have captured most of the greatest names in NASCAR history, is offering a special deal for the holiday season. An order of two or more limited-edition prints before Nov. 26 will receive free shipping (within the continental U.S.), which, in other words, is a potential savings of $170. For additional information and to see all the original paintings and limited-edition prints, visit www.garryhill.com.(NASCAR This Week)(11-11-2009)

Smyle Media Photo Database Available: Smyle Media is excited to announce that after nearly a year of cataloging and digitizing, over 6500 vintage and current NASCAR photographs are now online and ready for immediate viewing and licensing. Please visit Smylemedia.com and click on the "Photo Database" icon on the navigation bar to view these amazing photos. Included are images from the award winning Don Hunter Collection, as well as the Tom Kirkland Archive and several other vintage photographic collections. From Junior Johnson to Dale Jr., all images are fully captioned and ready for immediate licensing. For a short description of how to search our new database, request a user ID go to smylemedia.com.(9-10-2009)