Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.707

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be starting a new painting. The photo that I'm using is seen directly below. It is a Cadillac DPi racing car. I'll be using my usual acrylic paints on a 5x7 inch canvas.

I started with a pencil grid on both a print of the photo and the canvas. In this way I was able to transfer the car to the canvas in an accurate pencil sketch. I've begun to add some base paint on the car and pavement.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Saturday Painitng Palooza Vol.549

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be continuing with the painting of the 1940 Plymouth. I am using the photo seen directly below. I'll be using my usual acrylic paints on an 8x10 inch canvas.

When last seen, the painting appeared as it does in the photo seen directly below.

Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.

I began at the bottom by painting in the grass and shadow. I started this way simply because it provides a nice defining base for the things to come. I then proceeded to paint the outlines of the 3 cars. Finally, I painted some blue sky.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have a new painting to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.548

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be starting an entirely new painting. I am using the photo seen directly below. I'll be using my usual acrylic paints on an 8x10 inch gallery wrapped canvas.

The photo is from the parking lot of the Stormville Flea market this past year. My car is the black one to the far rear directly behind the 1940 Plymouth. I took this photo and didn't look at it until later on that day. I saw those shadows and knew it had to be on canvas.

I started with a grid upon which I sketched the scene. That sketch is seen in the photo directly below. A good start.

Next week, some actual paint.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.381

Hello again painting fans.

This week I will be continuing with the the painting of the vintage Hudson photograph. I'll be using my usual acrylic paints on an 8x10 gallery wrapped canvas. The photo appears directly below.

When last seen, that painting appeared as it does in the photo directly below.

Since that time I have continued to work on the painting.

I have concentrated my efforts directly on the Hudson. I spent some time addressing the front tire/wheel. It has been thoroughly revised. The tire, now fairly round and with reasonable proportions, houses a highlighted and shadowed wheelcover. While the band of the whitewall resides a bit too close to the wheelcover, it was well enough painted that I did not want to reverse course to correct the spacing. It will just have to remain a bit less than perfect.

The chrome molding along the doors and the base has been highlighted and shadowed. It gives the car a nice sweep of length. (The figure provides an interesting and contrasting vertical.) Notice that the figure casts her shadow on the black paint and chrome. Underneath the Hudson, the car now casts a shadow that continues within the front wheelwell. Looking within the Hudson's windows, the far side of the interior is seen in blue. Finally, the figure has received some flesh-colored paint.

The current state of the painting is seen in the photo directly below.

I'll have more progress to show you next week. See you then.

Earlier paintings in this series can be seen here.

Two In The Sun

Photographed the other day in southern Utah were these two circa 1950 Chryslers. Years of benign neglect has only served to enhance their appeal. (But no painting is anticipated.)

282 mpg (?)

Volkswagen has determined that it will put its 282 mile per gallon One Liter Car into production.

Volkswagen's had its super-thrifty One-Liter Car concept vehicle -- so named because that's how much fuel it needs to go 100 kilometers -- stashed away for six years. The body's made of carbon fiber to minimize weight (the entire car weighs just 660 pounds) and company execs didn't expect the material to become cheap enough to produce the car until 2012.

Six years?!!

Being obsessed with all things automotive, I actually recall when this vehicle was first unveiled. At the time, there was no indication that it was actually intended for production. It was more of a rolling display of what could be accomplished. Automobile companies do this kind of thing all the time with many of these concept vehicles finding their way to the car shows. They're as much about coming technology as they are about coporate pride. Most do not find their way to production, only the technology(ies) underlying them will actually move forward.

In producing an entire concept vehicle, Volkswagen is taking a very bold step forward, especially with this tiny commuter car. Kudos. It's just too bad that it did not happen far sooner.