Funkadelic van is Sawdust’s ‘magic bus’

“Flashbacks Happen.”

So reads the rear bumper of a 1963 Volkswagen van that has become the artistic symbol of the 40th annual Sawdust Art Festival.

The van is owned by Troy Poeschl, a Sawdust exhibitor, who was happy to hand it over to three other Sawdust artists who specialize in colorful paintings.

Ryan Gourley, Star Shields and Willie O’Leary worked on the project for a month, covering every inch of the vintage van with images culled from the early years of the festival.

Gourley, who creates laminated artwork on plywood and other surfaces, started out at the Sawdust in 1970. He had long hair then, and still does.

Shields, in his 22nd year as a face-painter at the festival, is an airbrush artist who added stenciling and softened some of the lines of Gourley’s hand paintings.

“The theme is, ‘Going to the Sawdust’,” Gourley said. “I dug back into the early days. I wanted the front to look like an Egyptian sled. There’s a male side and a female side. The female side has fairies.”

“It was a true collaboration,” Shields said. “No subject matter. Just fun.”

“It’s funkadelic,” Gourley said.

Not surprisingly, Poeschl says he gets a lot of attention when he drives the van around town.

? Cindy Fraziercpt-23-happs1-dl-CPhotoInfoVE1S7L7F20060623j18lffncDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Troy Poeschl, Ryan Gourley and daughter Amber, and Star Shields, left to right, reflect on their favorite memories from the early days of the Sawdust, next to Troy’s vintage Volkswagen van honoring the 40th anniversary of the festival with 1960s-style psychedelic art.