57 Buick - watercolor

watercolor, 2020

available, 11"x15"

      A little piece of the tail of a 1957 Buick. It's hard to tell from the reference photo I had, but I think this car had been hit somewhere in the rear causing an odd looking shift in direction for certain parts. Or, I guess it's possible that at such an isolated view some things just look like they fit together quite right.

Apaches - watercolor

watercolor; 2020

available; 11"x15"

      Just a couple old Chevy trucks left to guard the shed out back. There's a fair amount of dry brush in this one.

50 Plymouth - watercolor+ink

mixed; 2019

NFS; 8"x10"

      A quick little piece I did for a friend's father. This was a car he used to own and only had a couple photos of it in his driveway. I sent it to him through his son, my high school friend, and he liked it so much he mailed me a hand-written thank-you note. Better than any commission check.

53 Skylark - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      This was meant to be a quick, sketchy car painting. But, it turned into a much more realistic piece, though it still took just a few hours. Most of that was drying time for the several layers of red.

Spare - watercolor

watercolor, 2019,

available, 11"x15"

      Once upon a time, your spare tire was part of the elegance of your car. Painted fairly loosely to begin with, I made this one intentionally looser with a judicious addition of gesso even in unusual areas. I like the result enough that you'll probably see it again. A little white watercolor pencil helped with the spoke reflections.

Chief - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      An older Jeep Cherokee Chief. Successfully kept it a little loose. But, I think the photo is a bit dark.

53 Commander - ink+watercolor

mixed, 2018

available, 11"x15"

prints and gifts also available

      I've always felt Studebaker was ahead of its time with the aerodynamics of some of its car designs. Many of their cars look like they're moving fast just sitting still.

72 Gran Sport - watercolor + ink

mixed, 2018

available, 8"x10"

prints also available

      This is a 5"x7" ink and wash piece I did fairly quickly earlier in the summer. I was still getting used to some Isograph technical pens, but chose a watercolor paper that was a bit too rough. So, the ink lines are a little choppy. Still, I think it works.

56 Packard - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      A classic Packard coupe in front of an old gas station. To emphasize the car as the focal point I added a wash of thin acrylic gesso over practically all of the background. Then I restated the lines with charcoal. In addition to making the realistically rendered car pop, this also reminds the viewer of the two-dimensional nature of the piece. While the focal point may look realistic, its environment is a barely-colored drawing.
      That's the academic explanation. The truth of the matter is that I fully intended to paint the entire scene in watercolor relying on loose rendering to push the background "back." But, after nearly completing the painting I realized the deep shadow of the gas station portico completely overpowered the car. So, it had to go. There's more than one way to get a painting where you want it.

51 Kaiser Henry J - gouache

gouache, 2017

available, 8"x10"

prints and gifts also available

      I've had the reference for this one for years. I was never quite sure about the odd angle and foreshortening. I finally decided that gouache would be better than watercolor for the almost cartoony look of the image. It turned out this was one of those paintings that painted itself in just a few hours. It was possibly the fastest I've ever painted anything with this level of realism.

58 Ranger - watercolor

watercolor, 2017

available, 8"x10"

prints also available

      An old '58 Edsel Ranger left in a field.

Sunday Best - watercolor

watercolor, 2017

available, 11"x15"

      Now that Horror Month is over let's head back to church. This one was done from an old black-and-white photo. Family photos were taken very seriously at one time. I'm sure this family is wearing their finest clothes to show off one of their prized possessions, their new automobile. I'm pretty happy with this one, though I'd like to have been a little looser.

55 Desoto - ink + watercolor

mixed, 2016

available, 9"x12"

prints and gifts also available

      A quick, little ink and wash classic car. This one works out pretty nicely in spite of a general loosening of the details in the chrome grill.

57 Chevy #7 - watercolor + charcoal

mixed, 2012

available, 22"x30"

prints and gifts also available

      This is an older piece I discovered I hadn't uploaded here. It's a piece that is started and finished as a complete charcoal drawing. Then I fix the charcoal to keep it from rubbing off and paint over it with watercolor. The charcoal becomes a great underpainting and gives those deep shadows. I've done several pieces this way, though it's been a while since the last one.

V8 - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 16"x26" $350

prints also available

71 Monte Carlo SS - watercolor+ink

mixed, 2014

original available, 9"x12" $150

prints and gifts also available

Old Chevy - watercolor + charcoal

mixed, 2009

original available, 15"x22" $400

prints also available

53 Nash Rambler - watercolor

watercolor, 2007

original available, 8"x10" $145

prints also available

Mustang #4 - acrylics

acrylics, 2008

original available, 13"x17" $150

prints also available

It's still April and Mustang's still 50!

50 Olds Futuramic - ink + watercolor

mixed media, 2013

original available - 9"x12" $100

prints & gifts available