Post #143180 by stuff-o-rama on Fri, Feb 25, 2005 12:42 AM

I've met the man, Von Dutch, as my ex's father (Paul) was a gearhead and built many engines for Roth and Von Dutch in the 60's & 70's. During Von Dutch's last years he moved in with his grandaughter who lived less than 20 minutes form our house. Whenever Paul had a BBQ, Von Dutch was present. I remember him as being very quiet, he was very shy and the exact definition of the crazy artist. He was usually drunk but never harmed anyone or made a nuisance of himself. He was always carving something and muttering to himself. I never saw him wear jeans, he wore dickies style slacks or coveralls. I never saw him in a t-shirt with a pin-up girl. I never heard a racial slur, but he often slurred from the beer. He was flat busted, he gave more of his things away than he sold them. At the time I knew him he resented pinstriping as people wanted him to pinstripe his cars for clout, not for art. He often charged insane amounts to people he didn't like to disuade them but it only made it more desirable. I know turbogod mentioned in the other thread the Kustom Kulture art show of '93. They displayed pieces that he had striped and articles he had carved (mostly knives & gun handles). One piece was an actual dashboard that he had striped with a magnifying glass in front of it. From the naked eye it seemed like a normal stripe on the dash, but when you looked through the magnifying glass it read "This guy is a f#%king asshole." He painted with a single hair such fine lines that under normal circumstances it appeared as a solid line. I'm sure Robert Williams story was accurate, I just never witnessed any outbursts. One day he just up and left without telling anyone, it was more than a year later that we found out he'd moved to Ojai in a trailer on some property. A little factoid: to make some cash he gold leafed and striped the antique fire trucks for the cities of Santa Ynez and Templeton.