Photo courtesy of Harrod Blank Kathleen Pearson put a lot of love into "Love 23." The car's outside is adorned with about 4,000 objects, as well as 800 inside.

People truly have relationships with their cars. Some see cars as merely modes of transportation.

Others spend disgusting amounts of money to make their cars supercharged, dropped-down "pimp-mobiles."

But there are others, very much in the minority, who see their vehicles as traveling forms of artistic expression.

Enter the world of the car artist.

Stephen ("Penny Man") Baker puts a lot of money into his car - literally. In 1990, he began the arduous process of attaching 90,526 pennies to his Ford Econoline Supervan.

The University of Arizona alumnus and four-time candidate for Tucson mayor was featured in "The Guinness Book of World Records" for another project: a "coin-mail" suit he made.

"I used to go to bars, and nobody would notice me," Baker said. "When I started wearing the penny suit, everybody noticed."

AMY WINKLER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Car artist Stephen ("Penny Man") Baker stands with his "Penny Van." The "Cents-a-bull" van is covered in more than $900 worth of pennies.

Although people create art cars for a variety of reasons, Baker said he does it for the spotlight.

"It's all for the attention, the desire to be noticed," Baker said. "I was tired of being ignored."

And now, he said, people look at his vehicle rather than Corvettes and Mercedes nearby.

But that attention comes with a high price.

"You have to stand there and talk to thousands of people sometimes," he said.

Baker's advice to newcomers to the world of art cars is to create something noticeable.

"Really get their attention. I am the Penny Man, and this is my chariot."

Harrod Blank started his first art car, an "especially ugly and embarrassing" 1965 Volkswagen Bug, in his senior year of high school.

It began with a rooster painted on the driver-side door, to signify his affection for the chickens he had raised when he was young. Public response was so favorable that Blank continued to transform the car into an icon of self-expression and individuality.

Today, that humble Volkswagen is known as "Oh My God!" The name derives from the response uttered when someone sees the car for the first time. Adorned with items such as plastic fruit, a globe, bones, Santa, a mailbox and scrawlings of "Oh My God!" in multiple languages, the car is certainly a sight to behold.

Blank's involvement and influence in the world of art cars is impressive. In addition to "Oh My God!" he created "Camera Van," a van completely covered with assorted cameras. Hidden among them are 10 that are operational, which Blank uses to photograph the public's reactions to the van.

Blank has also made "Pico De Gallo" - he calls it "a Musical Mariachi Mobile" - in addition to many art car calendars, two books and several films on art cars and other subjects. He has been involved with major art car festivals in Houston, San Francisco and other cities across the nation and has met dozens of other art car artists.

He acknowledges that many artists, such as Baker, create art cars mainly for the attention.

"When you have an art car, it kind of catapults you into this instant sense of celebrity, because everybody knows something about you," Blank said. "It gives you a slight indication of what it's like to be a celebrity.

"You go to the market to get some food, and everybody wants to talk to you. They look at your car and look at you and wonder, 'Why?' It makes life more exciting."

Although he certainly seems to enjoy being noticed by the public, Blank sees art cars as much more than mere conversation pieces.

"I enjoy the attention in more of a rebellious sense, because I like stirring people up, getting them to react and to think. They're my audience, and I'm engaging with them," he said. "I'm making the audience have an experience - it's like being an entertainer, a performer, in a way. Because when you're in the car you're part of the car and then when you're not in the car, the car is eliciting reactions from people when you're not even around. (You're) creating something that's special, that resonates with the public."

Bisbee artist Kathleen Pearson expressed similar motivations. Her art car creations include "Love 23" and "Hex Mex," which are commonly spotted cruising the streets of Tucson.

"Love 23" is decorated with thousands of kitschy figurines, such as Gumby, Dracula, a troll and Mr. Potato Head. "Hex Mex" features an oversized, pink ice cream cone, a pink flamingo, the Virgin Mary and a plethora of Dutch designs.

"Art cars are for the public," Pearson said. "It's my philosophy to take the art out of the museum and get it out on the streets."

Blank thinks one factor that makes art cars so appealing to artists is their accessibility.

"Anybody can get a car for $600 that doesn't run well and start decorating it," he said. "It's a great way of getting a tremendous amount of exposure for very little money and getting either your statement, or your art, out in the public eye."

Although the initial investment can be low, however, Blank explained that creating an art car can be a consuming, yet rewarding, activity.

"I don't think people realize how much time and money goes into making these things," he said. "We're talking two full years to make 'Camera Van.' And the 'Penny Van' took Baker a full year to glue those on. When you think about it, that's insane. To spend a year gluing pennies or cameras? That's nuts!" he said.