1952 Forest Green MGTD

(Click image to see enlarged view)

The photograph for this painting originally had the car sitting in a grassy field with other antique cars and people wandering around in the background. I decided to paint a birch grove as an alternative background.

I had trouble with the green color by getting too much sap green and a bit of indigo in the mix. It initially made it too dark/drab. I pumped it up by adding some phalo green which is a truer, brighter hue.

I completed the background first and then started the car. I thought at first that I should have painted the car a different color. The background was primarily green so having a green car made the painting look pretty monochromatic. But once I had the darker values painted, the background faded a bit and the car popped out.

One thing always surprises me (and I don't know why I haven't figured it out yet) is how much the dark values like shadows make the painting. In this one the shadows under the headlights, to the left of the radiator and underneath the car were critical.

I like the left front wheel and the chrome on the grill and headlights.