TGR Staff - Photos by Lucas Kepner -10/02/2024
In the heart of Calvert, Texas, a small town known for its preserved Victorian architecture and rustic charm, lies Starr Studios—a unique shop where art and automotive culture collide. The man behind it, Sean Starr, is renowned for his mastery of distressed painting, a technique that evokes nostalgia for a bygone era. We have partnered with Sean on several projects in the past, and our latest collaboration is a classic Chevrolet C10 for Distinctive Industries’ 2024 SEMA Show build.
For the 2024 SEMA Show, Distinctive Industries is building a Chevrolet C10 with a twist. This isn’t just another custom truck designed to impress at the world's largest automotive trade event; it’s a deliberate exercise in telling a story through patina. The C10 is being transformed into a vintage "parts runner," a vehicle that looks like it has spent decades hauling supplies and delivering goods before being abandoned in a field before being resurrected for SEMA. To achieve that authentic, weathered appearance, we enlisted Sean to recreate the patina of time, a skillset that has made him a sought-after name in the custom car and hot rod scene.
Sean Starr’s approach to distressed painting is deeply rooted in traditional sign painting, a skill learned from his father and honed for decades. Starr grew up captivated by hand-painted signs, the kind that once graced every Main Street storefront across America. As digital printing took over the sign industry, Starr held fast to the craftsmanship of hand-lettering and the beauty of imperfections that only time—and a skilled hand—can create.
Starr’s process is meticulous and intentional. He doesn’t just slap paint on a surface and call it vintage; he carefully layers colors, sands them back, and applies weathering techniques to mimic the effects of years of exposure to the elements. His work evokes a sense of history, as though each stroke of the brush tells a story of a vehicle that has lived a life. For the C10, Starr’s artistry needed to reflect the truck’s imagined history as a hardworking delivery vehicle, carrying automotive parts for decades before finding new life as a showpiece.
For Starr, the project represents not only an opportunity to showcase his skills on one of the automotive industry’s biggest stages but also a chance to bring attention to the artistry of hand-painted signage and the craftsmanship that goes into making something new look beautifully old. The C10 will undoubtedly stand out at SEMA, not just for its nostalgic appeal but for the level of storytelling using metal, paint, and vinyl.
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