PCC artist plans to ride across the pond

Taming the frivolous wind and savoring the speed, Steven Houck and Elly love to get lost. They enjoy the motion, the sense of flying and freedom. Houck and his trustworthy friend Elly are rushing to find new thrilling adventures on their three week trip around the contiguous America.

Houck and his soul mate Elly are going to meet new and old friends and visit familiar and untraveled places. They will tell their adventurous stories and listen to the stories of people from all around the world. Houck will catch the beauty of breathtaking landscapes with his phone camera. Elly is a black, shiny 2007 Harley-Davidson Road King Police Edition motorcycle that has been a faithful companion to Houck for ten years.

Houck is not only an artist in his soul, he is an artist in life. For over 30 years he had been an art director at the advertising company “Twelve 20 Creative” in Pasadena. Now Houck is a 56 year old, semi-retired artist who is taking Screen Printing class at PCC with an adjunct graphic communications screen printing instructor Erica Ruvell Coleman, whom Houck met through the motorcycle community.

“As an artist, he has such a specific eye for what he wants to do and he is somehow able to execute it amazingly,” Coleman said about her diligent student.“We have no budget here. We do not have the best stuff to work with. He gets very critical when tiny little things go wrong.”

Houck likes being an ignorant student. He enjoys not knowing anything and planning to take more classes at PCC.

“I’ve been paid to be an expert on things. In this I am not an expert,” Houck said, pointing at his screen printing artwork. “It is a lot of fun for me. It is something new. I get to explore some new techniques. Nothing in screen printing comes out the way you expected to. Nothing is perfect!”

At the age of nine, Houck drew nudes in a summer class. He started his art career as an illustrator. When Houck was 18, an entrepreneur friend of his high school teacher had seen Houck’s drawings. He then asked Houck if he could do a logo for his Honda Shop. Houck agreed and word of mouth led Houck’s talent and passion to a T-shirt printing company “Expressions Unlimited.” A young artist, he created logos and different artwork for the “Expressions Unlimited” company throughout his college years. That is how Houck started his first company “Logos Ink”.

Interestingly, Houck was not an excellent student at school. He was not even a good student, but when it came to art classes, he was at the top of the heap. Houck graduated from Fresno City College with AA in Graphic Design and Pasadena Art Center College of Design with BA in Advertising.

“He seems like a very cool old dude, that wears leather jackets and rides motorcycles,” Jenny Vong, one of Houck’s classmates said. “He is too active. I do not really see old people go out and do staff. That is cool.”

An ingenious artist, Houck takes thousand of pictures of the fascinating nature on his travels and uses that to create art that he wants. Houck is inspired by the beauty he sees. He would like to convey his delightful feelings of the magnificent Mother Nature in his artwork.

“Real art is done for your own soul. It is expression of your soul,” Houck said.

Apart from all Houck’s art and motion passions, Houck’s favorite thing is being a father. He is a proud dad of a 14 year old boy who plays the flute, does track and field, rides a mountain bike, plays soccer, and enjoys writing and reading.

Houck roared through much of North America but has never left the boundaries of the alluring continent. He is planning on shipping his beautiful, glossy Elly over to England after his son graduates high school to meet his friends there and tour all over Europe.

New adventures and interesting places are waiting for Houck and Elly. They will celebrate life, create memories and take plenty of pictures, which will narrate the stories about Houck’s and Elly’s venture later.

“I would love to be able to tell a story and have other people enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed the actual event,” Houck said. “I want to make my artwork reflect what I have seen…I want to have other people look at this and say, ‘Gosh! I want to go there. It is a beautiful place!”