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GRRRRR!! Here is the animated hood of Leopard Bernstein, Kelly Lyles'
inspired Art Car, in a fearsome painting by Dave Hartz and Kelly.
"Bernie" is one of the most highly pedigreed Art Cars in Seattle. This big cat,
once a tame little Subaru wagon, has eaten up the road to many of the nation's premier Art
Car events, including the monster Houston Orange Show; the
San Francisco WESTFEST; the Combine Demo Derby held in Lind,
Washington; the Madcap Motorcade in Portland, Oregon; and the
annual Seattle Art Car Blowout which Kelly
co-founded with Dr.
Schlock.
Leopard Bernstein has copped honors at Portland (tie for
Best Surface Decoration) and Seattle (Best Use of a Theme at
the '99 Seattle Art Car Blow-Out;
Second Place at the Art Not Terminal Car Art show in September '97); and is
featured in Harrod Blank's new book, Art Cars. Car sports overall
leopard spots, paws painted on all four hub caps, and a spectacular tail. The interior
features leopard-spotted upholstery throughout, while numerous big-cat statuettes
fill it with color and pizzazz. There is a cat-faced pillow, a paint-by-numbers
masterpiece, and a small library of cat concerns in the rear luggage area. Jaguar hood
ornaments and more than 400 feline figurines crouch, play and pounce along the
sides of the hood and the roof of the car, while pointed
sheet-metal cat ears placed at the roof's leading
edge enhance the car's drag
coefficient.
Kelly, a graphic designer and fine artist based in West Seattle, appears behind the
wheel as the Leopard Lady,
suitably attired in cat glasses and any of her fourteen smashing leopard-skin ensembles.
Her growling and swipes with her long-clawed paws are special favorites among the
younger spectators at Art Car parades. The car serves as a mobile advertisement for her
design studio, Grrraphics, Inc.: its
vanity plates spell out GRRRAFX. Leopard
Bernstein, Kelly Lyles and the other fun-lovin' members of the Seattle Art Cars
will be seen in June on Channel 5's Evening Magazine; Kelly
and "Bernie" also led the art car caravan to San Francisco Art Car Fest in
September '99, a journey featured on the American
Journey cable program in 2000. Kelly herself
was featured in a full-page article in the Seattle Times (6/22/99) leading up to
the Art Car Blow-Out, and in the 10/5/99 issue of Women's World; she
later appeared on the Speedvision Network's program Car Crazy, filmed at Art Car Blowout 2000 in Fremont.
Kelly has painted a series of miniatures of great
Art Cars, exhibited in suitably cheesy frames
which she decorated herself; and a lighthearted "Rodent" series
including such titles as Mice-A-Roni, Mouse-tard, and Spamster. A reigning
monarch of thrift-store fashion, Kelly says she prides herself on her
shallowness and superficiality. Her favorite quote about the car (from a
child):"Look, Mom, it's a party!"
