page_title: Kenny Howard
section_title: Work
hierarchical_section_title: Kenny Howard / Work
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of the famous Von Dutch Blue Velvet Pontiac Firebird
context_page_description: Kenneth Robert Howard, also known as Dutch, Von Dutch, or J. L. Bachs, was an American motorcycle mechanic, artist, pin striper, metal fabricator, knifemaker and gunsmith. His father, Wally Howard, was a Los Angeles sign painter; and, by the age of 10, the young Howard was able to paint and letter at a professional level.
context_section_description: Howard started earning money in the 1950s by pin-striping along with fellow striper Dean Jeffries. Von Dutch has been a major influence in the customizing of vehicles from the 1950s to today.  Some of his famous works include the flying eyeball and the custom Kenford truck, along with numerous custom motorcycles and many award-winning custom cars. Among many custom car and motorcycle enthusiasts, he is thought of as one of the fathers of Kustom Kulture.
  An avid gunsmith and knife maker, Von Dutch made numerous art knives and embellished firearms. Most of these were adaptations of existing items to which he added his artistic flair. In 1958, Von Dutch designed and produced the "Mare's Leg", a cut-down Winchester rifle for the television series Wanted: Dead or Alive.
  Von Dutch completed pin striping the well known "Blue Velvet" Pontiac Firebird in 1979, which is complete with two perfectly parallel pin stripes 16 and a half feet long down each side of the vehicle. These pin stripes were completed by hand and attained a level of perfection that gave rise to the legend of Von Dutch as a pin striper.
caption: Von Dutch Blue Velvet Pontiac Firebird
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