Spooky Art Car Scares Customers at Raven's Grin Inn - Jim Warfield

Spooky Art Car Scares Customers at Raven's Grin Inn - Jim Warfield

There aren't many Haunted Inns that come complete with spooky art cars parked in the front but owner and resident Jim Warfield has done his best to give his clients the complete package.

In thetown of Mount Carroll, Ill is where you will find Raven's Grin Inn, a 19th-century mansion that's been turned into awacky house of horrors by Jim Warfield which just happens to be located a block away from a cemetery.

Warfield rescued the house from being demolished about 20 years ago and then went on to fill it
with all kinds of freaky art projects  like the "the last Elvis impersonator" that sits decayingin a wheelchair and of course plenty of creaky, spookyand secret passages. If you are feeling up to it you can get a group of 10 and go on a tour for $10 per person perhour but you must call in advance for reservations.

What got Jim a post here on art car central was one three spooky cars, a  87 Olds station Art Car wagon, "Custom cruiser" with arms that go up and down via a 79 T-Bird Vacuum /headlight door lifter device and a reptile hood with doll trapped in its bloody teeth. I think traveling cross country in one of these with the whole family is scary enough even without the skulls, but that's just me.

It took Jim about 5 years to rebuild his spooky art car to the point were felt comfortable taking it down to the local drag strip that allows anyone to race any car for $10. If speed doesn't kill then definitely a spooky induced heart attack would be enough to beat the competition. Go get em Jim:)

Spooky Art Car Scares Customers at Raven's Grin Inn - Jim Warfield

Spooky Art Car Scares Customers at Raven's Grin Inn - Jim Warfield

Spooky Art Car Scares Customers at Raven's Grin Inn - Jim Warfield

8 Reasons Why Stealing an Art car is a Bad Idea - Stolen Art Car ALERT

This is a stolen art car ALERT - Dennis Dillow from Fort Bend County, Texas has his station wagon art car covered in comic strips stolen right in front of his house Easter morning. First of all who would steal and art car and secondly who would steal one on Easter morning? For the most part stealing art cars is not a very good idea and here is why:

1. REAL easy to spot
2. Not reliable
3. Most people know who the owners are
4. Not a good get away car.
5. Resale value is lousy
6. Gas millage is poor
7. Everyone stares at you
8. The art car community looks out for each others cars

So if you are a bad guy reading this blog and you stole this car or are considering stealing an art car in the future think again. My advise to you is just keep walking!!! Anyone with information on the art car’s whereabouts is asked to call police. Here is a link to the video.

Volvo Art Car Splattered to Perfection

Volvo Art Car Splattered to Perfection. I don't know maybe they missed a spot:)

The Sauna - Riding the Alps in Style

The Sauna was built from a Volvo 240 and taken on CzechWrecks 2009, a 1500 mile 4 day journey starting from Calais, France through Swiss and Italian Alps all the way to Prague, Czech Republic.

What we have here is about 1/3rd of a ton of wood paneling being applied to the Volvo.

If you are wondering whether this wood had any impact on performance, I am assured it did. What performance they had to start with, remember that Volvo 240 are agricultural at best, that performance was soon zeroed.

Chris and Tom and their team built this car to raise money for charity and an opportunity to travel in their bath towels riding the sauna over some of the highest passes in Europe.

HMS Uranus Art Car - Boldy Going Were Few Dare To Go

The HMS Uranus Art Car is boldly going were few dare to go. Oregon watch out!!!

The Telstar of Whangamata Sticker Art Car Highly Contagious

This Sticker Art car was sent in by Murray McKenzie from Whangamata, a beach town in New Zealand. The art car is a 1995 Ford Telstar hatchback covered in free stickers from a local surf shop that took about 6 months to complete. I think this sticker art car might be contagious by the looks of the developing sticker rash on car parked next to it.
I believe now might the time to put Whangamata under quarantine until this thing sticker infection passes.

Chicken Coupe 1971 Morris Traveler Art Car

Chicken Coup Art Car - After

Michael Thompson is the creator of this Chicken Coupe Art Car made from a beat up old 1971 Morris Traveler in the heart of Norfolk Broads.

He went looking for something a little more unusual to make into a hen house and asked a friend of his who owned a body-repair shop to keep his eyes peeled for an interesting vehicle that he could use.
Weeks went by when one day this beat up old Morris showed up on its way to the scrap yard and Michael took about thirty seconds to decide that this was what he was looking for in chicken coupe art car. 100 quid (bucks) later and a pint of beer it was delivered to Michael's House.

The front end was a total loss so he chopped it up and used the back end that went on to become this really cool chicken coupe art car for Michael's four hens complete with ramp and bumper sticker.

His final words on the matter were... "Re-use, Recycle... one planet - to the max!" via

Chicken Coupe Art Car - Before

Salão do automóvel de Paris apresenta as máquinas do futuro

Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback, começa ser vendido no próximo ano,veja as fotos

Fileteado Renault Art Car by Alfredo Genovese

This 1981 Renault Hatchback Art Car was painted by artist Alfredo Genovese in Fileteado art work and submitted by Martin. It was on sale for about $6,000 back in 2007 from Argentina, but I don't know now who owns it.via
Here is also a video by the same artis working on a Fiat 600.

The Fruit Mobile by Jackie Harris

The Fruit Mobile, originally uploaded by Boptimist.

The Fruit Mobile a 1967 Ford station wagon has been around for many years and was created by artist Jackie Harris. The Fruit Mobile is also available for gigs through the Art Car Agency. Full Story

"Aqua Mobile" by Don Ehlen - Art Car Fest

photo by Bagel!

The AQUA MOBILE is the creation of Don Ehlen, a Seattle-based entomologist and educator. The car is a great example of a simple concept art car, basically just a great paint job, although 3-D features have begun to creep in: a fully inflated plastic blowfish atop the radio antenna, a crab creeping out over the rear license plate, and a red plastic lobster at the front. Also at this years Art Car Fest.via

Battle Wagon Art Car - Another one for the Apocalypse

Battle Wagon Art Car

Haz-Mat Hatch Art Car

Battle Wagon and Haz-Mat Hatch is another couple of those futuristic apocalypse mad-max art cars created by Todd up in there in Washington State. They might look ugly but they got it were it counts, two high-octane hi-carb Subaru wagons that hall out in a hurry when the mutants come chasing the day after. Todd said "this is the extent of my mid life crises" and "everyday is a parade in this car". Nice work Todd.

Trash Mobile - Near Miss with Art

Photo by Perpetually
There are many artist who manage to glue trash on their cars and succeed in reaching "art car" nirvana. This car on the other hand, basically had a near miss with "art" and failed in every possible way to reach any kind of nirvana known and unknown. But as far as reaching "totally trashy trash" nirvana this car has arrived.

Kelly Lyles "Leopard Bernstein" and her Art House

Kelly Lyle's house was featured on HGTV and in is one of the most fun and inspired houses I have seen in a long time. Since this is Art Car Central we do have her art car covered in the wild kingdom of wild cats.


Photo by Bagel!

Leopard Bernstein is a 1989 Subaru DL wagon. We've travelled to art car events and parades all over the U.S. My vehicle is quite modest compared to the other spectacular sculptured, glued, welded, transformed autos you'll see on these links and in my paintings.

Bernie is covered with hundreds of big cats -- lions, tigers, leopards, and cheetahs. He has welded ears and a tail. Driving an art car is a definite ice-breaker at cocktail parties and a definite deterrant to road rage.

My best comment came from a child - "Look mom, it's a party!"

Copy taken from kelly spot

sorry i was a bit lazy on this on!

False Voodoo Art Car

Photos taken at Art Car Fest 07 In San Francisco by addadada

This amazing volvo stationwagon art car comes from Sebastopol CA, created by artist Art Moura, who mainly paints sculptured recycled materials such as drift wood, plastic dolls and other found objects. So far he has produced a large body of art that can be seen on his My Tribe account. Below are some of his thoughts about his car:

I stated painting my car New Years Eve 2006. My friend, Patrick Amiot came over that morning with paint and told me it was time for me to paint my car. So I painted into the New Year. I later added painted dolls heads that I had about and slowly added other art pieces that I make. Its been a great way to have people see my art without going through the gallery and coffee house channels. I have a few names for it, Kali Eating Evil, The Birth of Venise Over and Over and Fog Vodooism which is the type of Art I create, a false vodooism, cast away consumer fetishes made into powerless gods of the voodoo fog from a mind lacking science but believing in nothing else. Art Moura