RUST BUCKETS

(Click image to enlarge)

This painting is from another photograph by Bruce Fingerhood. Bruce has a great eye for composition. These two rusting Chevy trucks sit abandoned in Bruce's father-in-law's backyard in Hood River.

I like the colors in this painting and the light playing off the headlights and the front bumpers. Until I added the dark shadows below the bumpers and the background grass and trees, the image looked a bit flat. Once the contrast was added, the two trucks seemed to come to life. I put in the greens and yellows in the grass quickly without trying to be too detailed.

My favorite parts are the front bumpers, especially the rusting bolts that hold them onto the trucks, and the left headlight. I also was satisfied with how the side windows turned out. I left them reflecting light from the sky as opposed to being transparent. I think I stepped away from the painting at just the right time. I was tempted to fiddle with it some more. Perhaps this proves the maxim that a painting is never done; you just stop painting.