Artist Spotlight: Harris Lue

He spent years getting in trouble in school for drawing in class. Now, he’s the co-owner of his own creative agency and partnering with some of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Meet co-owner of LUE Creative, Harris Lue.

1️⃣ How did you get your start designing?

I come from a very artistic family, with my mom being an amazing painter and my dad majoring in Theater Production in College, so I’ve been drawing cars since I could put a crayon to a piece of construction paper.

I got in trouble for doodling throughout grade school, and in high school had an amazing Art teacher, Frances Louis, who pushed me towards East Carolina University to pursue a degree in Graphic Design. During that time, I began working on my best friend Kenny Forbes’ LMSC [Late Model Stock Car] race team, and in between fetching tools and toting tires, I was shooting photos of every race and running his social media accounts.

My first real scheme design was for his 2013 car that we ran at Martinsville, where I created an entire 2014 Corvette ID Kit and eventually used the process of its creation as the focus of my college senior show.

2️⃣ Where do you turn to for inspiration?

I try my hardest to be a creative sponge and gravitate towards anything that I think looks cool, but I heavily rely on things of the past and love to look to the ‘80s and ‘90s when I need a boost of creativity. Whether it’s the vintage NASCAR tee collection in the closet, the Sam Bass pieces on the wall, or the books focusing on old movie posters, vintage sneakers, or print ads on the shelf, it’s always cool to soak in the way things were done before everything went completely digital.

3️⃣ What project of yours are you most proud of and why?

While I’ve since worked with brands like Liquid Death and McDonald’s and worked alongside my favorite drivers like Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte, the project that still sits at the top of that list is Sam Bass’ memorial decal during my time at NASCAR. With him not only being a lifelong hero of mine, but also a friend and mentor, it’s definitely the most meaningful and impactful project of my career. Memorializing him on the A-post of every vehicle was the least I could do for the vibrancy and color he provided to our sport. He truly paved the way for artists like myself and the many others featured in Trading Paints’ Artist Spotlight.

I tried to capture that in his decal by using his own art featuring a custom orange and blue paint scheme from his early ‘90s Racing Champions collab. Ironically, Brad Keselowski’s orange and blue winning car was a near-perfect match to the color of the decal itself, and the die-cast is one of my most prized possessions to this day.

4️⃣ What’s your ‘trademark’ style that helps you stand out from other designers?

It would be easy to say that it’s my hand-drawn throwback tee style, because that’s probably what I’m most known for, but I believe the philosophy behind it is more of our trademark than anything.

My wife and business partner, Emily (Butler Lue), and I both approach every throwback-style project asking ourselves, “Would this blend in on a rack beside other things from the era we are designing for?” and if we can answer that question with a yes, then we’ve met our goal every time.

We have people who closely know us and know our style ask us, “Is that vintage or is that y’all?” and if we’ve nailed it close enough that our family and friends can’t even tell, then we’ve truly nailed it.

5️⃣ You officially launched LUE Creative in January 2014 in the early days of your career. When was the moment that you feel it was the right time to launch this venture?

I’m pretty sure that 2014 date was when my college marketing class made me create a LinkedIn profile, but LUE Creative has been the dream since long before that, dating back to the first version of the LUE logo I drew up in eighth grade.

It began as “LUE Motors” when I thought I would be a car design engineer, then became LUE Design until late 2013 when my college design class gave me a personal branding project that became a rebranding project, and LUE Creative was born from that!

LUE Creative was kind of a lightbulb over the head moment, hearing a weird pronunciation of the word “lucrative” in Kanye’s verse from the song “Gorgeous.” If that extra emphasis hadn’t been put on the “LUE,” we’d still be LUE Design and wouldn’t have such a clever play on words as our brand name.

As for the business aspect of LC, I’ve been freelancing since 2011 and never stopped using it as a creative outlet outside of my day jobs at Late Model Restoration, NASCAR, and Stewart-Haas Racing. I steadily took clients in any form of motorsports I could, ranging from local short track races to pro drivers, but in 2017, I met Emily, who is not only a talented artist herself, but also brought the business sense to transform what was an evening hobby into a profitable venture.

After years of hard work establishing ourselves in the motorsports world, we decided to officially make LUE Creative our full-time job in March 2023. I definitely couldn’t have made this dream a reality as quickly as I did without her knowledge, guidance, and hard work. I am extremely proud of what we are building as co-owners!

6️⃣ RFK Racing and LUE Creative have partnered to produce several standout shirt designs, including race-win tees. What does the process and timeline look like after the checkered flag flies?

To start, we have a contract in place with RFK [Roush Fenway Keselowski] Racing to deliver a win tee design within 24 hours of the checkered flag — which already sounds crazy assuming we’re on the couch at home watching the race — but gets even more wild when you realize we were standing in Victory Lane with the team for both of their wins last season!

This agreement comes at a premium price, but has created some of the most memorable moments in our career. In the case of The Glen [Watkins Glen International in 2024 where Chris Buescher won], we were standing in Victory Lane with the RFK Marketing Team, Elijah Burke, Bryan Saunders, and Amanda Palmer, and the team from Build Submarines, developing tagline concepts while the “hat dance” was going on.

Standing there surrounded by confetti and champagne, we started the email thread to obtain photos and vector files. We had camped with Emily’s parents outside the track that weekend, so once all of the celebrating was done, we headed back to the camper, packed our things, and set off for her parents’ house an hour west to get back to the high-speed WiFi.

Once we got back and settled in, I was pulling reference photos and angles, so they were ready to draw after a brief night’s sleep. The next morning, Emily handled the email chains gathering assets and direction, while I drew Chris [Buescher], the burnout, and the winning battle with SVG [Shane van Gisbergen] as fast as I could to have it all sent to RFK and the sponsor by midnight that day. All said and done, the fully-custom illustrated shirt was approved by all parties and on the site for pre-order by 5 p.m. on Tuesday!

7️⃣ You talked before about the late Sam Bass, NASCAR’s first and only officially licensed artist, as an individual who is a hero to you. When did you first learn of the scope of his portfolio and what was that first interaction like when you both met?

I was introduced to Sam and his art through the event program I was handed at my first race, The Winston, in 1997. Not only was the cover extremely striking and vibrant in his iconic style, but there was also a small featured article inside about him and his gallery, with a little background on his career. It was that program article that let me know someone out there had made a living drawing cars, and maybe someday I could too.

I spent years looking up to his work and collecting his program covers at any race I went to. When I got my first credential as a NASCAR employee in 2016, I stopped by his gallery near the speedway to finally see his work in person. To my surprise, he was seated right inside the door winding down from his autograph session prior to the Xfinity race. Upon seeing that he was there, I couldn’t hold back an audible “holy shit” — which I immediately apologized for as he called me over to the signing desk.

After the starstruck reaction subsided, we were able to talk shop. I told him about my first race, the 1997 program cover, my new job at NASCAR, and how much I looked up to him. He had a few linework drawings of his Mustangs hanging on the wall, which also led to a discussion about our own cars.

We really hit it off, and he gave me one of his famous back-room tours. I left that day with a signed poster, his cell number, and the start of a friendship that I never thought I’d have. We spent the next few years sharing artwork, feedback, stories, and concepts. Emily even commissioned Sam to draw my two Mustangs in the same style as his own which we bonded over the day we met.

8️⃣ Following Sam’s passing in 2019, you made it part of your journey to keep his memory and legacy alive. How has Sam Bass influenced you and your creative direction for LUE Creative?

Sam and his gallery paved the way for folks like us to have a career in the sport. He did things that no one had ever done before and made a name for himself in ways that no one has done since.

Since his passing, we’ve become close with the Bass family and have been able to work with them to preserve the history and, in the process, become students of his career. Being able to study his art closely through the portfolios of process work, lost concepts, and unfinished pieces has given us a deeper appreciation of the work that went into everything he created while setting the standard that we strive for daily.

There’s no denying that there’s a bit of Sam’s influence in everything we do, and I catch myself learning something new every time we uncover a new facet of his storied career.

9️⃣ As a student of the sport, both from an art perspective as well as the history, who is one NASCAR driver from the glory days that you would have loved to work with in some capacity and what do you envision that to be?

The easy answer is Dale Earnhardt. I would’ve loved to have been in the trenches designing tees at Sports Image in the early ‘90s during his run to the seventh championship. I don’t know if I could’ve topped the “Real Men Wear Black & Silver” or the “Black Knight” tees, but being in the room with the artists that did would be enough for me. There’s so much merch from those days that is still iconic and a huge part of my collection today. Studying how it was made, being a part of the process, and maybe getting the chance to design a tee for The Intimidator in his prime? Count me in!

🔟 Share a design tip for people just getting started.

There’s nothing you can’t do if you’re willing to learn, and you’ll never be worse at something than you are today.

If you like a certain art style, chances are there’s someone out there with a tutorial, a resource, a brush, etc., to make that style achievable. And like everything in life — your first time may not be the best, but the more you do it, the better you’ll be!

Stay consistent, stay determined, and make the things you want to see in the world — because if you find it cool, there's a chance that others will, too, and that’s what making art is all about!

For more, visit LUE Creative, or follow Harris on Instagram and Trading Paints.