No Longer in the Fast Lane

One of the pleasures - and problems- of being an artist is that you often see things that would make great paintings and then they are gone.  Either they no longer exist or you never return to that locale.
Most often it is an inability to slow down and take notes or photos or even just memorize the scene for later work.

Such was the case when I often whizzed by an open field fenced by a line of old trucks.  I was never able to slow in time to pull off and photograph the composition but I would spend the rest of the trip thinking about them and the symbols they brought to mind.  Finally I made an intentional trip out to the field with camera in hand.

Time passed, deadlines came and went, and still the photo did not materialize on a canvas.  Until one cold and dreary day I decided it was time to tackle the scene.  With abandon and a palate full of color I began:

Sometimes I cant wait to see what will emerge so I start off in acrylics...they dry rapidly and a playful attitude really emerges when I know that I will be painting on top of it all over again.

on the easel

At various times I thought of these trucks as retired men getting together, sharing their experiences or bragging about the good old days.  At other times I saw them as objects of desire, now past their prime and cast aside.  Maybe they were even jewels in the rough catching the sun and showing their colors now hidden by rust.

I tend to get metaphoric when I abandon all rules of realistic tonal qualities and perspective.  To paraphrase Cyndi Lauper: a  girl just wants to have fun (now and then).  So I did.

ROMEOs 12 x 36, oil

(Retired Old Men Eating Out) Available

Creatively Color Full,

Cindy