Grrrrr Camaro Painting

Grrrrr Camaro I am often surprised by animal shapes I find in photos of natural scenes, in my own paintings, and in the designs of vehicles. While sitting in traffic jams or plodding through mall parking lots I imagine the personalities of the cars around me. The side trim and sculpted panels suggest lightning bolts, ocean waves, reclining nudes, or leaping raptors. Head on I find anthropomorphic expressions in the configurations of lights, grills, and trim pieces: mirth, cunning, hopefulness, sadness, or aggression. Others resemble clowns, birds of prey or, in this case, a raging fanged beast. Perhaps designers were influenced by Disney Cars characters but also by Christine, the unhinged, murderous 1958 Plymouth Fury from the movie that bears her name. The Camaro sits in its driveway in the waning light of a late summer evening. The growling beast is defined by the rows of flashing teeth in the bottom grill, topped by a bowtie shaped nose set off by silvery whiskers in the upper grill. The beast’s eyes are hooded so she peers menacingly from under her brow. Her scalp is wrinkled from the top of its head as she retracts her lips to bare teeth and dimple the jowls. This is a high performance beast with over 450 horsepower and street-racing-style Hankook tires. In a short ride on a deserted country road she threw my shoulders back in my seat and swerved lustily. It thankfully fell short of triggering a blackout but leaks on my seat were plausible threats. The Camaro’s owner wants to increase the horsepower to top that of a local Dodge Challenger. He doesn’t take it out in the rain or at any time in winter and buys presents and expensive vacations for it. True car love. I couldn’t decide if the true Camaro color is Hot, Arrest Me, or Metallic Red or even Orange. I selected Winsor Newton Rose Carthame for the medium reds because of its red orange tint with Winsor Newton Red for shadows. Holbein Vermillion sets off highlighted surfaces. Elsewhere, I relied on Daniel Smith colors. Pyrrol Orange tints the topside panel reflections. Pearl Blue and Electric Blue cast sky reflections on windshield and hood. The tire is made of Kyanite with Hematite shadows and Sodalite tread shapes, with Hibiscus highlights. The grill bars are set off by Hematite shadows with the cross pieces highlighted in Lapis Lazuli and Pearl. The driveway was blacktopped recently and we can see the pavement texture in the Pyrrol Orange dusk glints in the matrix of Lavender and Hematite that color the driveway. The dark blotch at the upper right in the passenger side headlight is my reflection as I knelt to take the reference picture.

Painting:Watercolor on Paper

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:14 W x 10 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.