My thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Watson, I'd love to shake his hand one day. Didn't he paint this '56 Chevy? I'd love to clone this car one day:
Rikster put up the picture I wanted to put on of the cars on the show floor, didn't Watson paint about 60 or so of the cars and bikes at that show in 66-67? Thats what I think about, what it must have felt like to have so much of your hard work all around you like that all at once. Larry's life would make a good movie, from somebody starting out in their parents driveway , I'd say Larry Watson represents my ideal of the American dream. When I draw out scallops or panels on a car, I always think , "How would Larry do it?" Get well Larry.
Watson has always been on the "Just-Ahead Edge" with all of his color and technique that he laid down over the decades, hopefully more to come. Wish you well! firstnomad
His sense of design is radical now, I can't imagine what the reaction must have been when he first unveiled his madness. Get well soon Larry.
Legendary style - both automotive and facial hair! I can't wait to see how this thread develops. Get better, Mr. Watson!
No story about Larry, just a great admiration for his contributions to the car world. Obviously I'm a big fan and very inspired by his work.... His compliments when he saw MCD could not have been more important.
I got the good fortune of going up to his house to take a look at his personal museum. I took a butt-load of photos that day and have them posted on the World of Rods site. You can ask him about the colors used or the technique on any of the cars he has painted and he'll be able to tell you exactly what he did right down to the air pressure he used in the gun. Here is a photo from that day... there are a lot more photos from that day here... www.worldofrods.com
My late friend Charlie Mawhinney was the one who clued me in on Larry Watson. I met Charlie in about 1989 when I stopped to talk to him about his "sandy brown primered" '64 Chrysler with "bubble gum pink Watson style freeway scallops". I really dug that car, but back in the late 80's and early 90's, most rodders frowned on a primered car with all those krazy scallops. Charlie would cruise with us in the barrios of Denver, and the gente just went krazy over his car. We went on to start a car club that is patterned after the style of cars that Larry painted over the years. Larry was Charlie's inspiration, and after knowing Charlie for a long time, Larry became an inspiration to all of the other guys in our club as well. Whenever Charlie painted a car, he tried to follow Larry's style as best as he could. He did the layout on my Buick back in '99, and even after all these years the paint has held up great, and people always seem to receive it well. I had the pleasure of meeting Larry in Paso in '03, and he truely is a gentleman and always takes the time out to talk to his followers and say a few nice things about your car. Sorry to hear that one of the good guys is feeling under the weather. Best wishes Larry, and get well soon! E
Whoa....Mr. Watson has been one of my biggest idols, I have thousands of pictures of his work hanging on my bedroom walls. Even a autographed to me picture of the Grapevine (My favorite car) saying "To Jon with a memory from the roots of customs, Larry Watson". And the other connection I have with him is RDR's Grapevine clone..was my grandpa's old car before RDR bought it. I started an exact model of his Grapevine..not painted yet though....I think this is gonna encourage me to finish it and present it to him. Get well soon Mr. Watson!
Thanks Ryan, for letting us know. May God bless Larry Watson, and many thanks to him for all he's done for the hot rod and custom car hobby.
Sad news. Definitely hope he gets past it and has many more years left to continue inspiring the rest of us.
Once upon a time,,,,,,in Medford , Ore. a good friend of mine (Rick Freemeyer) bought a '57 ford, with a Watson paint kob on it, The car had a major impact in my life! If I could only paint with the vision Watson had, I wouldn't be where I am now......painting everything I own flat black! Larry, get well.., Please! My prayers are for you! Crow.
Yep... One of the great things about Larry is his patience for teaching us younger guys that just don't know any better. He can relate... I love that. BTW, court... Great job with World of Rods.
I broke down in front of Larrys house on my way to Mojave one year. He let me use the hose to fill up my radiator and told me not to cut my Chevy too much, it looked just right he said. He made my day.
Everything I've ever read about Larry has been outstanding. His talents amaze me, I hope to meet him someday.
He was really forthcoming about what works and what doesn't when it comes to body mods and paint. If his body of work doesn't influence you, meeting him in person will. He is the genuine article. Thanks Ryan, it has been an "adventure" turning the magazine around...
I haven't had the honor of meeting him, but I really hope he gets well soon, and that I someday can meet him!
Back in February -92 I bought a poster from mr Watson and ended up in a shorter mail-conversation with him (mail back then was a thing with paper, envelopes and stamps for you youngsters). He's a true gentleman and really made a young Swedish lads' day when he not only bothered to reply to my letter, but also said that he hung one of my drawings above his desk. That really meant alot to me. Thank you Larry and get well soon!
I met larry Watson at Paso in 94 and he invited me down to Norco to see his shop. what a thrill it was to go there and see his pictures of the wall and have him sign my poster of the clock drive in by Steve stanford. I painted my 59 El Camino this winter white w/silver pearl and Kandy Gold Panels similar to his work. I sent him pictures after the striper did the panels. GET WELL SOON Larry.
Get well soon Larry. Ive always heard wonderful things about how nice a guy he is and we all know about the legendary contributions he's made to our hobby. Hope to meet him sometime.
I dig Mr Watson for his trend setting way-out late '5o's paint jobs that both enhanced and disguised the car's factory lines. All the best for a speedy recovery.
Whoa,all the best to Larry from the missus and i here in the UK...I've always been a bit adverse to the word hero,but mr Watson would i guess certainly fit the category for me,we were lucky enough to visit on a road trip a couple years ago,Larry's pre-scalloped purple version of grapevine having been *the* car in terms of stoking my custom interest,so radical yet seemingly so simple,making the most of what was inherent in the cars' style already.....i was kinda in awe,attempting to take in not only everything that was on display,but also all the stories and knowledge i was hearing....I'm still struck by how warm and welcoming he was to us,and just how f'king sharp the guys' brain is,like others have said total recall of anything you'd care to mention....a great dry wit too.He signed my little book with grapevine on the cover,and its' a prized posession....I never knew before i visited about his extensive acting career etc either....A style pioneer,and a stylin' guy,and an inspiration in that he's always made the most of life. Get well soon Larry
When I began reading this thread, I also recalled back in the mid-60's reading an issue of Car Craft (?) with coverage of one of the major West Coast shows. It mentioned that 60+ entries in the show were painted by Larry Watson! 60 show-worthy paint jobs would be a lifetime achievement for most painters ... having all of them in the same place at the same time boggles the mind! Like other hot rod and custom craftsmen's names that we revere on this site, Larry has always been a few years ahead of the herd in terms of imagination and creativity. I hope that we will soon be hearing good news about his recovery and health .
I've known Larry for the last couple of years. My wife used to work at the mall in Victorville and she used to tell me that this guy used to always walk the mall in the mornings and would get a Starbucks and come in to her store and talk to the ladies. The wife mentioned that I was into hot rods, so Larry gave her a business card. I told her, "You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me.....Larry Watson?" Anyway, we worked out a day where I could meet him and I kid you not, we bullshitted for 2 straight hours about cars. He invited me to his museum at his house, and it was incredible. It's not big, but it is so loaded with pictures you could spend a full day in there. Only after you see the pictures can you fully appreciate what impact he has had on the Kustom world. There are pictures of cars that he did that we never in magazines that would garner a front page spread in any magazine today. They were that nice. I love hot rod history, and that place is a MUST SEE if you want to get a good idea of what was going on in So Cal in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I swear that guy must have never thrown away anything. Like was posted earlier, he could show you a ratty old Binks spray gun and tell what he had the air bleed set at when he painted the Grapevine. The guy has a memory that is so incredible it's almost scary. I consider Larry a friend, and I always go out of my way to say hi whenever I see him. He's a genuine article, and an icon. I'll try to get some updated info on how he's doing and pass it along. He would be so touched to see how many of us are thinking about him.
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