From stamps to award-winning posters, San Francisco-based illustrator John Mattos's distinctive style combines natural drawing talent with the polished elegance of airbrush techniques and a stunning colour palette. His work celebrates traditional Art Deco poster design with a glamorous modern twist.
Born in 1953, Mattos grew up on a farm in the Central Valley east of San Francisco, where Continental cars were popular. “Like George Lucas, we lived near Modesto," he recalls. “I learned to drive early, on trucks around the farm, and was always drawing cars – mostly Ed Roth-style hot rods - and aircraft.”
Early artistic heroes for Mattos were Syd Mead and Charlie White III. While not from artistic roots, his talent was encouraged and eventually led to enrolment at the ArtCenter College of Design in LA. Airbrush art eventually became his signature style and, as a master of the medium in the 1980s, his commissions kicked off with record-sleeve artwork, magazine illustrations and event posters. “Having worked on a farm, I was at home with the hardware back then,” he says. “My most difficult challenge has been the switch from analogue to digital tools.”
Bu hikaye Classic & Sports Car dergisinin March 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Classic & Sports Car dergisinin March 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Mick WALSH
'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal
"It's a car for posing in really"
Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback
THE FEMININE TOUCH
In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?
Out on a limb
Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market
Restyles with substance
Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding
Dead ringers
The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart