Besides go-fast boats, Dean Loucks from The Art of Designs paints furniture, custom prints and even bombs.Next week, Dean Loucks, renowned performance-boat painter and owner of The Art of Design (TAOD) in Elkhart, Ind., is hosting a grand opening of Dean's Place Art Gallery, his new fine art studio in Granger, Ind.

Loucks, who has created some of the most famous paint jobs on high-performance boats from Cigarette, Outerlimits, Skater and more, will have many of his custom wall paintings on display, as well as pianos, coasters, furniture and even custom-painted bombs (talk about unique). The gallery will be open to celebrate the occasion every night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., from Wednesday, Feb. 8 to Saturday, Feb. 11. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony with the mayor will take place Saturday at 3 p.m.

"A lot of hard work has gone into this gallery," Loucks said. "Art, as you know, is something that causes an emotional response from someone. We try to do things our own way that really evoke emotion. This gallery features a lot of art I've designed using special painting techniques. We've got some neat things in store."

Dean's Place Art Gallery is located at 918 East University Park Drive in Granger. Accompanied by food and drinks, Loucks and company will be on hand to show off the fine art as well as talk shop about some TAOD's most recent work, which includes painting the PUMA Ocean Racing sailboat, teaming up with Liberty Coach to paint the company's RVs and various other boats his team has painted.

Livorsi Marine unveiled a new Fly-by-Wire system and new Electronic Side Mount Controls (above).

Livorsi Marine's latest development—a fly-by-wire system to replace its manual cables with an electronic interface—compliments its award-winning lineup of Vantage View instruments, Smartcraft® DTS controls and adjustable LED indicators, according to a press release from the company. This team of products can be combined for a range of applications such as tabs, drives, jackplates, rudder indicators and water level or fuel level senders.

"Fly-by-Wire by Livorsi provides more features, instant response time, less wiring with plug-and-play systems, and no mechanical cables to wear out, break or corrode," said Mike Livorsi of Livorsi Marine, in the release.

Also new from Livorsi is its Electronic Side Mount Controls that allow for precise shifting and throttling. The compact, side-mount controls have the ability to actuate wake tabs or drives with single or dual trim switches housed right in the handle.

With Caravelle Power Boats, Interceptor Performance Boats, Key Largo Sportfishing Boats, Clearwater Sportfishing Boats, Cape-Craft Sportfishing Boats, and Sea Hawk Offshore Fishing boats under the Sak Marine umbrella, the Florence, Ala.-based company clearly has the powerboat world covered.

Caravelle builds recreational pleasure boats, Interceptor targets the high-performance market, and the rest, each with some derivation of “fishing” in its brand name—well, you get the picture.

The reportedly “debt-free” company’s latest move, bringing on Nick Miller as managing partner and vice-president for all brands, is a savvy one.

Read More: Sak Marine Nabs Nick Miller

Eliminator Boats is expected to have a handful of models on display for this year's Los Angeles Boat Show at the L.A. Convention Center.The 56th annual Los Angeles Boat Show is just around the corner, and depending on what kind of boat you're in the market for, the show could be extremely worthwhile. Scheduled for Feb. 9-12 at the Los Angeles Convention Center's South Hall, organizers are expecting a stronger turnout for the show, which was brought back to February after it was moved to March in 2011.

Unfortunately, if a new high-performance boat is on your radar, your options will be fewer than usual at the Southern California Marine Association (SCMA) show, which is presented by AAA. In fact, many skeptics in that portion of the boat business are wondering if the L.A. Boat Show has run its course.

Admittedly, a handful of consistent exhibitors will be missing from the show, including Advantage Boats, Dave's Custom Boats, Howard Boats, Nordic Boats, Teague Custom Marine and others. Still, Dave Geoffroy, executive director of SCMA, said he's excited about what's in store, especially when it comes to providing a fun boat-buying environment for the whole family.

Read more: Big Changes in Store for Upcoming L.A. Boat Show