a classic.

Now I'm finally able to share with you the painting I've been working on lately! I had to wait because it was a birthday gift for my husband, which he received yesterday!

My dear is working on restoring a 1965 Chevrolet Impala (total gangster!). He is SUCH a car guy. When I say "car guy" I mean this man eats, sleeps, breathes, and dreams cars. Not only are cars - and anything with a motor, for that matter - his passion, but it's his hobby AND his profession. You can pretty much bet that at any given moment he will either be thinking or talking about cars. I love that his passion is so clear and defined. Do you know people like that?

When he was younger, he spent most of his free time doing "car stuff" with his dad, which sometimes included restoring/working on classic cars. He's always wanted to work on one of his own, but couldn't figure out just which one to pick (How do you pick??). He liked old Impalas, so when the opportunity came along for him to purchase and restore one, he jumped. He brought this beaut' home early January of this year.

three generations of "car guys" 

He really has his work cut out for him on this tank. He brought it home on a trailer because it didn't even run! What he originally thought would be a "fun little side project" has turned into a complete restoration & overhaul. I'm still so happy for him because it's a stress reliever and something he loves. I get updates and see photos of the progress almost daily (he's keeping it at his shop). We can't wait to go cruisin'!

aw, cool, dad!

That afternoon, I was snapping photos left and right when I captured this image, which I knew immediately that I would turn into a painting. 

So when his birthday rolled around I knew just the thing to do! I went to Staples and had them blow up the image in a black and white "engineer's print". Then I carefully adhered and wrapped the image around the 24x36" canvas to use as my guide. Easier than drawing, right? I was so excited about this I even bought new paints. I've always used the basic paints but I invested in some heavy-bodied acrylics for this project (and any future projects) and I'm so glad I did. The coverage and texture they offered was perfect. I had originally carefully gone over all the lines, making everything super smooth and accurate, and then decided it would look better with a little more "edge" to it. So I pulled out the palette knife and started making really bold changes to it, including some splattering and some more "harsh" lines and strokes to make it more modern and "pop-art"-ish. I spent several afternoons and evenings secretly working on this... so without further delay, here it is!

 

Needless to say, he LOVES it. I painted this for his office at work but somehow knew it would probably never leave our home. Now it has found its place in his "man room" aka our media room. It's going to look amazing in there with the room all pulled together! 
I'm so proud of this piece, but especially that I was able to combine our two loves into one project and help his car really come to life on this canvas.