There is one particular compliment that local artist Paul Salnikowski is never quite sure how to take. His pencil-drawn illustrations are so vivid, so life-like, that folks often mistake them for photographs. "Sometimes when I'm displaying my work at a car show, people walk by and remark what nice photos they are," said Salnikowski with a chuckle. "After I explain that they are actually pencil drawings some still don't believe me," he added. "They still have to take a closer look."
Salnikowski, who was born in Winnipeg and raised in West St. Paul, has been drawing since the age of five. With the exception of a few tips and loads of encouragement from high school art teacher Murray Boyko at Garden City Collegiate, Salnikowski is completely self-taught.
Paul Salnikowski has turned a love of racing history into an art form. Many passersby mistake his work for photographs.
Salnikowski draws primarily in pencil or pencil crayon, and thanks to a lifelong love of cars, he places a large emphasis on automotive-related drawings. The 36-year-old Salnikowski's realistic images include motorcycles and muscle cars, but his latest passion is for vintage drag-racing images with a distinct nostalgic appeal.
A few years back when Salnikowski's friend Dave Rogers resurrected a speed shop under the old Dragmart name, he wanted a couple of nostalgic drag-racing drawings for the waiting area at the front of the shop. After doing some research on Keystone and Bison Dragways, and other long-lost drag strips, Salnikowski began to really appreciate the nerves of steel the drivers of these mean-machines possessed.
"I couldn't imagine putting together a tube frame, dropping in a 1000-plus horsepower engine, and then squeezing in behind that engine while straddling the differential," he said. "Not to mention the oil, smoke, and raw nitro in your face as you flew down the track trying to see around the engine at 200 mph. Those guys were a crazy bunch."
He said he's been greatly inspired by drag racing photos from the past and regards old front engine dragsters and funny cars as works of art. "Their shape, colours, gold-leaf, pin striping, and hand-lettering are incredible," he added. "I really enjoy drawing them."
In addition to automotive drawings, Salnikowski's portfolio also includes a number of amazing portraits of people, pets and anything else a customer wants drawn. "As long as I have a good quality photo for reference I can basically draw anything," added Salnikowski, who typically charges about $200 for a framed commissioned portrait.
While he hopes to one day make a full-time living as an artist, presently Salnikowski is a partner in Economy Furnace and Water Heater Service.
Although he enjoys the work, his first love is and always will be his art. "It's a good job that keeps me moving," he said. "But if I go more than a couple of weeks without drawing I get a little twitchy."
Another question that routinely comes up is why his company is called 1320 ART. "A drag race track is a quarter mile long, or 1320 feet," added Salnikowski, "I read it in a magazine once and thought it was cool."
Very cool indeed...
For a closer look at Paul Salnikowski's fine pencil illustrations, and information on how to commission him for portraits, check out the 1320Art website at www.1320art.com
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