Turning Your Car into a Work of Art
Adapted from a piece which ran in Street Muscle Magazine
Meet “Dan Gogh,” the man, the myth, the legend. Dan Hansen purchased C&L Auto Body in Covina, California at the first of this year. He renamed it after his moniker, Dan Gogh Collision Center (DG Collision Center, for short). Street Muscle Magazine featured Dan’s story in 2018. He was credited with helping to keep the hobby of vehicle restoration alive.
Dan is a noted painter and auto body-man and “Driveway DaVinci.” Dan earned the nickname because his work disrupts the industry similarly to the famous Dutch-Post Impressionist Painter Vincent van Gogh. Painting landscapes, still life pictures, portraits and self-portraits, van Gogh’s work is characterized by bold colors and expressive brushwork.
“Dan Gogh” is an American car painter whose custom sleds, hot rods and muscle cars are similiarly characterized by bold colors and expressive air brush work. His talent caught the attention of the custom car scene starting with his first major project, a 1962 Cadillac, and continued to producing a flawless finish on Bill Nash’s 1930 Ford, which debuted at the Grand National Rod Show (GNRS).
Dan is a husband and father of two girls who previously owned Dan Gogh Master Refinishing, a popular mobile auto body shop based in Chatsworth, California. The collision center focused on excellent refinishing as well as fabrication, design and restoration. Dan’s journey as a painter began when he was 12 years old! Under the tutelage of his father Dave, he learned the fine art of vehicle painting, relishing the opportunity to apprentice under enormously talented mentors.
Dan’s Early Days
Born in upstate New York, Dan’s aptitude as a painter manifested itself early. He was painting bikes, models and rooms in the family home. A self-confessed wild child, Dan is thankful his father decided to constructively channel his son’s youthful exuberance, encouraging Dan to spend a summer working with family friend and noted restorer, Metro Foti of New Image Body & Paint Collision Center, restoring his grandmother’s Caddy. Dan later worked with Kenny Grimm at Number One Auto.
He taught Dan the “soft skills of the trade.” At 21, Dan moved to California to start his own detail shop. By the time he was 27, he opened a shop on the outskirts of Los Angeles, finally relocating to the San Gabriel Valley in 2018, where he relished the opportunity to take an already well-established auto body shop to the next level. To read the Street Muscle magazine article in its entirety and see more of Dan’s work, click here.
The Best of Both Worlds
As owner of DG Collision Center, Dan plans to continue providing excellent customer service for affordable prices. Keeping the existing staff in their well-honed positions will ensure continued quality and attention to detail, while simultaneously delivering a new level of custom paint, repair and auto restoration that sets DG Collision Center apart from most other auto body repair shops in and around the Covina area.
About DG Collision Center
The “go-to” location for auto body repair and classic restoration in the San Gabriel Valley, since 1970, DG Collision Center is already known for our attention to detail, courteous service, and fair and affordable prices. If you select DGCC to repair your car, our concierge service will help make your entire auto body repair process easy on you. We will even help you arrange for a rental car and deal directly with your insurance company. DGCC is owned and operated by Dan Hansen, aka “Dan Gogh.” Come by the shop 781 E San Bernardino Road in Covina, contact us via email today, call (626) 445-6630 or visit DGCollisionCenter.com.