That One Distinctive Feature

Most classic cars have one, that one design element that immediately tells you what make, model and year the car is without seeing anything else.  The 1959 Cadillac tailfin with it's bullet taillight lenses, the 1957 Chevy headlight with the vent screen in it's surround, and the 1971-73 Buick Riviera's with their boat tails.

Boat Tail Buick

Acrylic, 16" X 20" on 1/8" panel

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These unique design elements are what I hope to focus on in my close crop paintings like this one of the aforementioned early 1970's Buick Riviera.  Actually the whole car is distinctively designed from front to rear.  I chose to focus on the boat tail in this painting because that is my favorite element.  The profile of these cars is nice as well, but I'm not too much of a fan of the front end, the design makes it look like it has the overbite of a great white shark.

I have to admit though I don't hate the front end as much as I used to, it's grown on me a bit.  If one this nice showed up in my garage I definitely wouldn't kick it out anyway.

Here are some close up detail photos of the painting so you can get a good look at the texture.  (click on the images to enlarge them.)

Close Crops

There are a couple of ways to abstract something yet keep it representational.  You can alter and/or simplify the shapes but not so much they become unrecognizable.  You can obscure the object with abstract marks.  Or you can use unexpected colors, or any combination of the three. A fourth way is to focus on only a portion of the subject rather than include the whole. That's what I chose to do with these two paintings, that and alter/simplify the shapes slightly which is an automatic result of using knives to paint instead of brushes.

Orange Studebaker Champion

Acrylic, 16" X 20" X 3/4" cradled panel

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The 1950 Studebaker Champion has a very distinctive front end, the center of which is often referred to as a "bullet nose" so of course I composed the painting to focus on this feature.

Tri Power

Acrylic, 18" X 20" X 3/4" cradled panel

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Subject number two is a Model A Ford coupe modified into a fenderless hot rod equipped with a Chevy V8 engine sporting three, two barrel carburetors, hence the name "Tri Power". I showed more of the car in this one, nearly half, because I felt there was more story to tell.  Obviously that hopped up motor is the focus.