Colorful Abstract Hot Rod Sketch Paintings

 I decided to do some small paintings on paper to experiment with bolder color and abstraction, below are the results.

The first one is a blue flathead powered Model A Ford hot rod roadster with a vibrant orange, yellow, green and blue background and a violet and pink foreground.

The second sketch is a red Model A Ford five window coupe hot rod with an orange and yellow background and a pink and purple foreground.

The third painting is a 1936 Ford chopped coupe hot rod with a red and blue background and a pink and blue foreground.

I really enjoyed these little sketch paintings and plan on exploring this colorful abstract style further.

Three New Car Paintings Runny and Splattered

 I completed three new automotive paintings this week in a somewhat expressionist style using drips and spattering as well as scribbly line work using paint pens.

"Red Jaguar XK120"
Acrylic, 9" X 12" on 1/8" panel

"Mint Green 1954 Mercury Monterey"
Acrylic, 16" X 12" on deep cradled panel

"1934 Chevy Pickup Rat Rod"
Acrylic 12" X 16" on 1/8" panel

Pushing the Color

 I recently painted a couple experimental compositions with a focus on vibrant color and abstraction.

"Grassy Hillside in Autumn"
Acrylic, 12" X 9"
Click on image to purchase

The colors on this small autumn landscape aren't too crazy except for the purples sprinkled throughout, the sky is mostly blue and the trees and grasses are yellow and orange, still the colors are mostly bright and vibrant.

"Tri Carb Hot Rod Rod"
Acrylic 11" X 14"
Click on image to purchase

I went more abstract with this one as a challenge to see how far I can go towards abstraction while keeping the subject recognizable. Parts of the old school hot rod are not fully defined, colors overlap in non-objective ways, random brush and knife strokes add variety to the blues, purples and oranges with touches of red and yellow. Finally I added lines, some random using paint pens and random splatters using fluid paint.

Both paintings are definitely attention getters, the color in the hot rod painting is especially vibrant, almost pushing into pop art territory. 

Back to the Easel

 It's been a while since I've done some easel painting, I've been mostly doing the line and wash sketches and pen and ink drawings.  Recently I decided it was time to get back to the easel.  

I decided to finish up a couple automotive paintings I'd started and abandoned previously. These paintings are done primarily with thick brushwork.  I mix thick matt gel with blending medium and mixed that into my paint mixtures to get a thick paint that doesn't dry too fast.  I finished off the paintings with a few palette knife strokes as well.  I kept the backgrounds abstract and the cars themselves very loose.  I was shooting for strong contrasts to make the compositions really stand out.

The first painting I finished is of a red 1932 Ford coupe hot rod with a yellowish background.

"Red 1932 Ford Coupe Hot Rod" Acrylic, 12" X 12"

The second painting was a red 1932 Packard classic luxury car a blue-violet background.

"Red 1932 Packard" Acrylic, 12" X 16"

I enjoyed painting with the thick brush style and will probably continue to explore this style/technique.

Painting for Charity

 Kulture Krash is one of the coolest and largest annual automotive events in Northern Utah.  I won't call it just a car show, it's much more than that.  Art is as big a part of Kulture Krash as the cars.  There are many artist booths, most with Ed Roth Rat Fink and monster style art or pin striping, in other words "Kulture" with a "K".   There was also a Hot Wheels swap meet, of which I participated along with having some of my art for sale. This show is for charity for the Angel's Hands Foundation. One of the events to raise money was a custom Hot Wheels silent auction, I donated two of my customs and they did well.  

The big event that ends the show however and one of the main attractions is the live art auction, also to benefit the charity, in fact it is the primary source of the funds raised for the charity at the show.   I decided to paint something specifically for the art auction.

"Custom Blue 1940 Ford Coupe"
Prints Available

I started with a 12" X 24" cradled panel, painted the edges black and toned the surface with burnt orange. After laying out the composition I painted it all using brushes but fairly thinly.  Then I painted over it again with thick paint, adding details and refining it.  The last layer was to apply extra thick paint selectively using knives and even an old credit card to add interest and texture.  The result is a side view of a lowered old school custom blue 1940 Ford coupe with a chopped to and fender skirts against an abstract yellow/orange background.

Playing With Classic Cars

Often times I start a painting, get frustrated with it, take it off the easel and set it aside, put it back on the easel a few days later, get frustrated, set it aside again and so on.  Most often these frustrating paintings eventually get covered and the surface used for a totally different painting.  Occasionally I'm actually able to make the painting turn the corner and turn into something worthwhile, that is what happened with this one.

"Yellow 1953 Buick", Acrylic 12" X 16"

This is a 1953 Buick classic car.  I started this painting a couple months ago and it did a couple stints on the easel, the third time was the charm. The car in my reference photo that I took at a local car show was actually kind of a pale green, I decided it needed to be something more dynamic and painted it yellow. I painted this one mostly with brushes with highlights applied with a palette knife and thick paint.  I kept it loose and impressionistic.  I also added some splatters at the bottom.  I kept the background abstract in blue and violet.

A Six Day Blue Art Challenge

 Last week I participated in an art challenge put on by an administrator of an art forum.  The challenge was to produce one piece of art, start to finish, each day for six days and each piece must contain the color blue.

"Small Autumn Tree Study" acrylic, 8" X 6"

"Autumn Bushes Study" acrylic 6" X 8"

For the first two days I kept it simple and just painted two small acrylic autumn landscape studies with blue skies.  The first one is an autumn version of a summer landscape I did for the green challenge, the other just on an old photograph I took in Wanship, Utah.

"Tall Blue Trees" acrylic, 12" X 9"

For the third day I revisited my abstract trees series.  I started by adding texture using pieces of tissue paper wrinkled and fixed to the surface using gel medium.  Then I applied high flow paint and water and let it drip, then refined the composition and colors using heavy body paint applied with brushes and then added a bit of line work using acrylic markers.

"A Big Blue Barn" acrylic 9" X 12"

This one is a little out of character for me.  Ya, it's a rural landscape, and it's an autumn scene, but I've never painted a barn blue before, I don't believe I've ever seen a blue barn but I wanted more than just a blue sky for this one to comply with the theme of the challenge. The reference was a photograph I took in Liberty, Utah.

"Abandoned Blue Chevy Dump Truck" acrylic 11" X 14"

It's been a while since I've painted an abandoned vehicle so I picked one for the fifth day.  The reference was actually green but it's no big deal to make it blue.  The truck in the reference was actually in a junkyard in Nephi, Utah, I put it in a field backed with bushes.

"Blue 1935 Buick Sedan" pastel 12" X 16"

For the last day I really pushed my skills.  This painting was popular with the other participants but I'm not especially happy with it.  I decided to use pastel instead of acrylic for this one.  The painting is very loosely based on a vintage black and white photograph of a 1935 Buick driving in traffic on a highway somewhere in California. I focused on the Buick, removed the traffic and modified the background.

I've been doing a lot of challenges lately and am now rather burnt out on them.  I think this last one especially pushed me.  Time to do something a little different I think, maybe some pen drawing.

Back to the Cars...I Mean Trucks

 I've been experimenting with a slightly different style using thick paint and brushes instead of knives on landscapes lately, I figured it was time to try it out on a car...I mean truck.

"Blue 1940 Ford Pickup" Acrylic, 12" X 16"

This was actually a paint-over, meaning I had painted this years ago but wasn't happy with the painting so I painted over the original painting in an attempt to recover it.  I had painted it with knives so the texture was especially thick so I had to sand it down first but I left enough of the original painting to guide me for the paint-over.  The main problem with the original painting is the drawing was way off.  While the drawing still isn't perfect it's not bad and far better than it was before.

I'm finding now that with this technique I'm working on I'm able to get quite a bit of texture without using knives, this might become my go to style from now on.

Speaking of thick brushwork texture you might want to check out this blog post by James Gurney about The National Gallery using OTC scans to assist in restoring a painting by the artist Adolphe Monticelli who was French impressionist and even painted with Cezanne.  After seeing the video in the blog post I had to look this artist up.  His brush work is very aggressive, highly textural, making his paintings almost abstract, I find it very interesting even though I'm not a fan of his color palette or compositions.

A New Series Begins

 My painting has been very experimental lately.  I've been trying new techniques, styles and subjects.  I touched on that in my last post when I shared new texturing techniques I've begun to use for my landscapes. A couple new series of paintings have spring from these experiments, I'll share one now.

"Checking Out the Six"
Acrylic and paper "14" X 18"

One new technique I've been experimenting with is collage.  I've always found old photographs and advertisements interesting, especially those that are automotive related. For the first in my "Vintage" series I made a collage of antique automotive advertisements and added a painting based on a vintage photograph on top of the collage. I couldn't figure out what make, year and model the car is but I could tell it's from the early 1920's or a bit older and it has a six cylinder engine.  The photograph featured three men checking out the engine in the new car, I eliminated one of them from the composition and kept the background abstract. At that time six cylinder engines were typically only found in mid and high level cars.  Six cylinder engines were not only valued for their power verses four cylinders, they also ran smoother which was very important for luxury brands. 

The original photograph was black and white of course so I was free to choose my own colors.  I decided to make the primary color blue with red and yellow accents, in other words a triadic color scheme.  I added some drips and splatters using high flow acrylics and some line work using paint markers.  

I plan on making many more in this series, usually automotive themed but still with a wide variety of compositions including everything from antique cars, to customs, hot rods and trucks.

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A New Video - Hot Rod Charcoal Sketch Demo

 It's been a while since I made a video, finally got around to it this week.   I made a loose, even semi-abstract sketch of a 1932 Ford roadster hot rod using vine charcoal, regular charcoal blocks and pencils and tinted charcoal.  I also used alcohol to create splashes and drips.

Prints Available

Back to the Classic Cars

 I haven't been spending as much time as I should at the easel lately but I'm trying to do better.  I also haven't painted a classic car in a while, I decided to rectify both situations recently, as well as get back into making blog posts.

Blue 1965 Ford Thunderbird
Acrylic, 10" X 20"

Prints Available

We've all heard the line from the Beach Boys song "We'll have fun fun fun until Daddy takes the T-bird away".  I don't know what year of Thunderbird they were singing about but it couldn't have been a 1965 since the song was released in 1964, though the 1964 through 1966 Thunderbirds were almost identical in body style.  So why are Thunderbirds so fun?  Initially introduced as Ford's answer to the Corvette they were really more of a luxury sports car, then in the late 1950's and early 1960's they turned into a four seater and got rather large, still a somewhat sporty car but far from being a sports car.  Then the "Bullet Bird" was introduced.  The 1964-1966 body style was referred to as the "Buller Bird" because it's profile shape was very similar to a bullet. This generation of the Thundered bird took it somewhat back to it's roots, it was downsized while still remaining a four seater and given a much more sporty profile, but still not really a sports car, but definitely much more sporty than the second generation.  I believe this version belonged in the "personal luxury" category.

My painting focuses on the passenger front corner including part of the grill, the top of the corner of the bumper, the headlights, the wheel/tire and part of the hood.  I decided to paint this one mostly with brushes but kept it looks and added some textural touches with the palette knife.

And the Winner is...

Last week I posted this photo to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

I asked my followers which one of these they'd like to see me paint next.  By the time I was ready to start painting the Model T Ford roadster hot rod had the most votes, so that's what I painted.

"Little Hot Rod Roadster"

As you can see I chose a close crop as I often do. I also made the car blue instead of black and ditched the high rise tunnel ram intake and replaced it with a regular intake with small, round aircleaners. Of course I painted it with palette knives to make it a bit abstract and create lots of texture.

The rusty old Chevy truck came in second in the voting and I'm working on that painting now. The abandoned antique Farmall tractor got a couple votes also and so may be my next painting, or maybe just a sketch...or maybe both.

Here are a couple close ups of the hot rod painting so you can get a good look at that texture.

Painting A Custom Car

Not much to say about this one, it's a painting based on a photo I took of a custom 1950 Chevy at a car show.  The actual car was painted flat black, other than that I painted it pretty much how it was.

Blue 1950 Chevy Custom

To purchase click on image.

If you have 20 minutes to spare why not enjoy this video of me making this painting?

Hot Roddin' With Paint

I've been slacking with my posting lately, sorry about that,  and this one is going to be a short post, sorry about that too, but at least I'm giving you a video to watch to give you something to occupy 15 minutes of your stay at home time.




This painting is based on a photo I took at a big car show last year.  The car was built at a shop in Grantsville, Utah and is a bit famous having been published in Wheel Hub magazine so I stayed pretty true to the colors and features, of course the palette knife applied layers made it more abstract, but it's still quite obvious that it is a 1932 Ford hot rod.  Here's the finished painting;

"32 Hot Rod"

Click on image to purchase

Blue Thunderbird

The Thunderbird was Ford's answer to Chevrolet's Corvette.  For the first three years of production the Thunderbird was a sporty two seater personal luxury car.  In 1958 the Thunderbird grew in all dimensions and gained a back seat but was still considered sporty, personal upscale transportation, while Chevy's Corvette remained a two seater and actually become more of a sports car every year, making 1955 through 1957 the only years the Corvette and the Thunderbird were direct competitors.

So, a little automotive history to give some back story to my latest painting. I'd just be repeating myself for the thousandth time to say I love classic cars, most all of them.  I have some favorites but no brand allegiance per say, so while I love Corvettes, I find Thunderbirds appealing as well.  When it comes to a subject for my art though, the design of the car needs to be appealing as a painting as well.  It's not just about the car, it's about the composition.  I know most people will love an image of their favorite car regardless of composition, but as an artist I have to think beyond the subject. That's why I enjoy doing close crops like this, nearly any classic car has an angle that makes a good composition if closely cropped.

Blue Thunderbird

Click on image to purchase

I chose pastel colors for the whole painting, a popular color palette of the 1950's. Painted in my usual semi-abstract style using mostly knives and thick paint, with very little brushwork.

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

(click on image to purchase)

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

(Click on image to purchase)

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

(Click on image to purchase)

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.

Little Squares

Seems like I can't leave well enough alone, I'm always experimenting, especially the last year or so.  However my typical go-to techniques have been either lots of layering using brushes and glazing or thick palette knife application.  Last month I made two paintings using a somewhat different technique/style.

Click on image to enlarge

"Spring Walk in the Mountains"

Acrylic on 1/8" panel, 10" X 8"
Original - $100
Prints Available

As you can see in this painting the entire image is made up of small, square brush strokes creating a sort of mosaic effect.  I'm not sure this could technically be called impressionism but the image is more abstract the closer you look at it so it does have an impressionistic visual effect.  The technique is very simple and I think that is one of the things that appeals to me.  I did a simple underpainting to establish the composition then simply applied deliberate brushstrokes.  The idea is to always consider the brushstroke color, direction and placement before putting it down, it forces you to slow down and by more mindful.  My goal was to avoid having to rework my brushstrokes.  There is some overlapping of strokes but nothing to the extent that could be called layering. 

One of the challenging aspects of using this technique with this image is that I was using square brushstrokes to represent the organic shapes of clouds, distant mountains and trees without it looking mechanical, I think it worked out pretty well.  The painting is based on one of the many photos I've taken while hiking in the Wasatch Mountains, I think I was on the Willow Heights Conservation area trail for this one.

Click on image to enlarge

"Red 1948 Chevy"

Acrylic on 3/4" panel, 20" X 16"
Original - $300

This second painting was an experiment of trying the "little squares" technique on a vehicle.  To keep it simple I chose a close crop of a 1948 Chevy that I photographed at a car show and I put in a simple abstract background.  While I did have to stray slightly from the "little squares" concept in order to maintain the identity of the car it was easier than I thought it would be to keep the variety of shapes on a classic car identifiable, and it was a lot of fun and went quicker than I expected.

I think there is plenty of potential in the "little squares" technique/style, the process was enjoyable and produced interesting and effective results, I'm sure I'll continue to explore this concept.

More Things With Wheels

I went back to playing with the pastels again, I decided to try a vehicle painting.

"Glory Passed"

Pastel on paper 9" X 12"

The truck is a 1946 Ford flatbed abandoned on desert ranch.  It's kind of sad to think of the current state of this old workhorse.  Just think of all the useful work it did for some farmer or rancher back in it's glory days.

I also recently did this mixed media sketch of an abandoned car;

"Has Potential"

Mixed media on paper, 5.25" X 10.5"

This poor 1939 Mercury tudor sedan certainly has seen better days, but what a project it would make for a restoration or a cool custom car.  The sketch started with watercolor washes for some subtle underlying color.  Once the washes were dry everything was sketched out in charcoal and then some colorful touches were added with pastel pencils.

Another Charcoal Study

I can't explain how meditative charcoal drawing can be, at least the way I do it.  While I enjoy doing it I'm not sure I'd call it fun, it seems too quiet and serious for that.  I've always felt a close connection with the subject when drawing, more so than with painting I think.  When drawing I'm going much slower and studying the details deeper and without the distractions of mixing color.  Sure, color has it's place and can be a lot of fun, but the simplicity of only having grays to work with has it's own reward.  Anyway, without further delay here is my latest small charcoal study;

"Vehicle Study No 1"

5" X 7" Charcoal on paper

This abandoned early 1950's International Harvester truck resides right in the middle of the suburbs of Utah County in Pleasant Grove.  The immediate area is still somewhat agricultural but is also surrounded by housing developments, it's kind of like the calm in the eye of the storm.  In the actual scene there is a tractor parked behind the truck, to keep the drawing simpler I replaced the tractor with bushes from another reference photo.