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Schmiddy’s ’65 Buick Riviera designed by Steve Stanford

After some deliberations – I was unsure if it would work at all – so I decided to contact Steve Stanford last year (2017)…
In my eyes, he is worldwide one of the best Hotrod draftsmen, if not the best, and I asked him whether he would draw me his vision of my ’65 Riviera… Right, even here in the small Switzerland he is quite famous! 😉

As I tried to find a webpage or any contact possibility to reach Steve, I found him on Facebook. So I dropped few lines with my request and Kat and her brother Sean Morris, both longtime friends of Steve and the masterminds of “Steve Stanford Designs”, answered me. Two wonderful people who helped me to get access to Steve… They coordinated everything very kindly and professionally in the background. After a very sympathetic and funny phone call with Sean and Steve, I could give some key points on how I would like to have the drawing of my Riviera (kind of hotrod, but not too exaggerated).

Few days after our call, Kat told me that Steve had started to draw my car. I was extremely excited and had no idea how the drawing would come out! I couldn’t wait to hold it in my hands and see what masterpiece Steve had created. At that time I was in Florida for a couple of weeks over Christmas/New Year with my wife and some friends, so I asked Steve to send the drawing to my local address in Kissimmee instead to my home in Switzerland where nobody could take care of.

When I received the package and opened it, the surprise was absolutely perfect and my joy was endless!!!

Today I am very, very happy, proud and so grateful to own an original drawing by Steve, this artwork is now in a special custom frame and in a well deserved place and I look at it every day for a few minutes! (…and discover little details each time…).

Thank you again Steve, Kat and Sean! I love you, you all are my heroes who made one of my dreams come true!
So, step by step, I will restore and customize my ’65 Riviera as a great man has designed it!

For those who doesn’t know Steve that well, check this cool youtube video:

Rodder’s issue #71 – Rivi-Design by Steve Stanford

I’ve always had a thing for Steve Stanford … His drawings are so perfect and no one manages to grasp the “soul” of a car better than he does! His grandiose art is to draw a car as if the car itself had been asked what it would look like!

I am as you all know, a Buick Riviera fan. Or rather a Riviera 65 fan! When I saw the drawing of a Rivieras 65 by Steve Stanford in Rodder’s #71, I knew I must have the original drawing. I got in touch with Rodder’s in good spirits and asked how I could come up with this drawing… I was almost laughed at and they told me that I had no chance to get this drawing because it was privately owned.

This somehow made me sad… But anyway, I will not give up and find another way to get a drawing from Steve Stanford!

For those who doesn’t know Steve that well, check this cool youtube video: