Nose Cone Style is this Artist's Specialty
By noderel:
Danelle Hanna Schure, an artist from Ripon, Wis., described the painting on her early postwar GMC pickup as “pinup art,” but to us it recalled the “nose cone art” that you used to see decorating the noses of World War II aircraft. Whatever you call it, Schure’s Rush Lake Studio specializes in this type of art, as well as pinstriping and custom artwork.
“I do pinstriping and graphic design on vehicles,” Schure said during a recent interview. “Also, various paintings like portraits of people. I’ve been painting all my life but doing it pretty seriously the last 20 years.”
Danelle has an art degree. “I just kind of learned technique and materials,” she explained. “But you’ve got to have it — you either have it or you don’t.” She has been learning pinstriping from some of the guys at hot rod shows, especially a guy named Donnie Webster. “And other people have helped me, too. I’ve been practicing with them ever since (I met them) and I’m doing pretty good.”
When Danellle went to art school, she learned how to paint bowls of fruit and other still lifes. “They’d probably roll over in their graves if they knew I was doing pinstriping,” she said, “but that’s what people like and they pay the money.”
Danelle says that most people learn about her through word-of-mouth advertising. “That works pretty good,” she pointed out. “I go to lots of car shows and I sell lots of things at them and hand out lots of business cards. I don’t have to look for work — it comes to me now, which is pretty nice.”
Danelle said artwork like the one on the GMC would cost “roughly $300 a door.” She guessed that was probably a “Pretty good deal,” but said that she also enjoys doing the paintings.
Danelle has participated in the NEW Motorama in Green Bay, Wis., for all three years. The event has a “Pinstriping Legends” type art area and she has met some cool artists there. “They auction art off and we all do very well,” she noted, “and I get to work with artists from other states. I’ve received compliments from them, which mean a lot to me.”
To compose a pinup painting, Danelle uses various references and pieces her artwork together from them. The car on the door of the truck was designed from a feature in a car magazine. “I think that woman was in a different ad for something. We wanted the spray gun in her hand and things like that.” The lettering is done by hand. “I just do it,” said the artist. “I never studied that.”
Rush Lake Studio is located at 8146 Rush Lake Dr., Ripon, WI 54971. For more information, call 1-920-361-2970.