Don Gibbs

Don Gibbs has been working out of ECF Art Centers' South L.A. studio since it started in 1968! Don’s infatuation with automobiles is evident in his years of dedication to documenting them. To this day, whenever he sees an interesting car drive by he grabs any paper he can find and draws a quick sketch of it. Early in his career, Don would make model cars from clay but now he focuses on drawings and prints, expanding his portfolio of cars.

“I like to draw cars. I been doing it a long time. I started in ‘68. I was about 17 years old. At the other school on Pico. I like the program. I like the people too. They got nice people in here. I like my life. I love my life. I have fun too. I listen to my music, watch things, watch the cars outside. I used to ride the school bus, the big yellow one, a long time ago. I was small then, I couldn’t talk ‘til I was 12 years old I just didn’t have no words. But you can see things and then you can draw them, like old antique cars. The first one was ‘56 Buick four door. It was blue and white. It was a gentleman’s that I met at a gas station. My mom owned a gas station then. Yeah I still remember that car.”

-Don Gibbs