Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Trip to New Mexico: Classic Truck Painting

It seems like every time I go to New Mexico I see at least a few of those old classic pickup trucks; some are really rusty, while others are in pristine condition. I'm not generally into classic cars and trucks, (nor any vehicles, to be honest), but there is something sculptural and nostalgia-inducing about these trucks. It's not uncommon to see classic trucks, which clearly don't run anymore, displayed as sculptures (either intentionally or inadvertently) in yards and driveways. The classic 1950s Chevy pickup truck in a field with weeds sprouting up around the tires, or in front of an old adobe house with a bright New Mexico sky in the background is an iconic image of the Southwest. There were certainly some great paintings of this sort of iconic scene in the Santa Fe and Taos art galleries, but they weren't exactly within our budget. So, after taking some photos of a classic 1951 Chevy pickup truck that was painted an amazing shade of "light sky bluish-turquoise" in Taos, I decided to create my own "classic truck in the New Mexico landscape" painting. I also love the New Mexico skies and adobe buildings, so of course I had to sneak those in as well. This was also the first time in months that I've used oil paints, and I really enjoyed working with oils again.

"Taos 51 Chevy" oil paint, 2013

Here is a photo that my mom, Susan Flook, took of a really interesting classic pickup truck displayed as art on a small side street in Santa Fe. Too bad I missed this one when we were out there.

"Santa Fe Truck Art" digital photograph by Susan Flook, 2013


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