Harold James Cleworth is perhaps the most well known automotive artist working today. Born in the industrial North of England during the Second World War, he quickly developed a love for the aesthetics of machinery, and began painting the local Orwellian landscape. Several one-man shows were held in local pubs and libraries during his teenage years.
One of my favorite restaurants in LA is Shima on Abbot Kinney. The restaurant displays several of my originals and not only do they have good taste in art, but they have the best sushi ever.
Automotive realistic painter sold his first original painting to the Chase Manhattan Bank of Zurich and soon after, private collectors began to commission him to paint portraits of their Bugattis, Duesenbergs, and Ferraris. Galleries invited him to exhibit in San Francisco, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Carmel.
My favorite place in Los Angeles that I would take visitors would be Venice Beach. From the sublime to the ridiculous, the wealthy to the homeless, the black to the white, the gay to the straight, and all in between, All are seen in Venice Beach. I remember the first time I came to L.A. I couldn’t find it. Now I have. Seek and you will find the most colorful and diverse city in the world.
In 1972, frustrated with the London scene, a trip to California convinced him to stay and begin his career as a fine artist, choosing the Automobile, his first love since childhood, as the subject. A series of posters followed, amongst them the black 300 SL gullwing Mercedes, which rapidly became the most popular automotive image on the market.
