TORONTO, ON // FEBRUARY 20, 2020 • The sixth annual Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo will feature a unique presentation by acclaimed automotive artists Ron Gibbs of Burlington, Ontario, Danno Drouin of Brantford, Ontario and Guelph, Ontario’s Rollie Guertin. The trio will be combining their skills to create three distinct panels – in real-time – at Motorama. The show takes place on March 13, 14 & 15 at the International Centre, across from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Dubbed, ‘Panel Jam,’ Gibbs, Drouin and Guertin will be pinstriping three black canvases on Saturday and Sunday in Gibbs’ booth near the Pinty’s Stage. Drouin and Guertin will also have their own individual booths featuring their award-winning artwork in the ‘Mayhem’ room (Hall 4).
“For the past 20 years, I’ve done demonstrations in airbrush and pinstriping, like this, at the SEMA Show for companies like House of Kolor and Sherwin-Williams,” said Gibbs. “And I’ve known Danno and Rollie for years; they’re friends of mine and are well-known as two of the best pinstripers in Canada.”
Additionally, Gibbs will be producing a painting of the show’s featured celebrity guest, Chip Foose, which will be auctioned off for charity on the Pinty’s Stage just prior to the announcement of the Motorama Grand Champion on Sunday afternoon.
“That’s a pretty big deal for me,” said Gibbs. “I’ve known Chip for a long time and produced artwork for him over the years. I’ll begin painting it about a week before Motorama and then finish it at the show. It will feature Chip and some of his most iconic cars.”
Gibbs is an airbrush artist, custom painter and proud Canadian with more than 45 years of experience and is recognized as one of the top airbrush artists and pinstripers in the world.
“I’ve always been an artist and car guy at heart, and I’ve transitioned from working primarily on cars to also doing automotive-based artwork as well,” said Gibbs, who acquired the moniker ‘CdnRatFink’ many years ago when an author of a car magazine story compared him to Ed ‘Big Daddy Roth,’ the legendary automotive artist, custom car builder and creator of the ‘Rat Fink’ character known throughout the automotive world.
Gibbs’ custom paint work has won awards at some of the most prestigious custom car, truck and motorcycle shows in Canada and the United States, and has custom painted more than 25 vehicles for companies and manufacturers like Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Mercedes and Iwata, many of which have been featured at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada. His work has been seen on the covers of many automotive, truck, motorcycle and art enthusiast magazines.
In 2018, Gibbs earned the prestigious ‘Painter Award’ at SEMA, which is considered one of the highest honours in automotive custom painting. He was also handpicked by Asset Iwata to be part of the ‘Air Affair Group’ in Salt Lake City, Utah, consisting of 12 of the best airbrush artists and custom painters in the world.
“That was a real honour for me as I was the only Canadian in the group,” said Gibbs. “The largest airbrush / custom paint gallery in the world is in Salt Lake City at Asset Iwata and it’s amazing to have my work displayed in such a world-renowned gallery.”
Additionally, Gibbs’ work has appeared on television shows like Counting Cars, Bitchin’ Rides, Iron Resurrection, Chop Cut Rebuild, Dream Car Garage, Holmes on Homes and The Rick Mercer Report. On the motorsport side, Gibbs has produced artwork for the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, and NASCAR teams like Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Racing and Hendricks Motorsports.
ABOUT RON GIBBS: Burlington, Ontario-based Ron Gibbs, dubbed the ‘CdnRatFink’ is a proud Canadian and one of the most sought-after automotive artists in the world. His award-winning work has appeared on numerous magazine covers, in popular television shows, at every major automotive show in Canada and the United States and in some of the most prestigious art galleries in North America. In more than 45 years as an automotive artist, Gibbs has worked with legends in the custom car industry, including Chip Foose, and earned the one of the highest accolades an automotive artist can earn when he won the Painter Award at the 2018 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
ABOUT THE MOTORAMA CUSTOM CAR & MOTORSPORTS EXPO: The sixth annual Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo takes place March 13, 14 & 15, 2020 at The International Centre, across from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. The show features more than 330,000 square feet of custom cars, hot rods, racing vehicles of all kinds, tuners, displays and exhibitors. Motorama is Canada’s biggest late-winter celebration of automobiles and motorsports. For information about the show, including tickets, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, and more, call (416) 962-7223, email info@MotoramaShow.com or visit www.MotoramaShow.com.
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