Art Now and Then: Paintings I've not Done Yet--Automobiles

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Paintings I've not Done Yet--Automobiles

Whether you realize it or not, this image is another that I've stitched
together from two separate photos.

There's hardly a greater challenge for an artist than portraiture. And aside from the human face, the greatest challenge in portraiture is in automobile portraiture. It's likely that few people outside the art world and the classic car world would think of paintings of cars as automobile portraits; but let me tell you, as one who has worked for some of the most dedicated and demanding collectors, they pay as much attention to every single detail as would a loving mother in guiding the hand of a portrait artist painting her children. To the antique car collector, his shiny bright beauties are his children (most collectors are men). I could carry that analogy further, but you get the idea.

Hotel Courtyard Fountain, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Last week I demonstrated the key factors in joining (or stitching) two separate photos to be used as source material in a painting. Two new photos can be seen separately above and below. The background was a garden courtyard at, I believe, the Sheraton Hotel in Plantation (near Ft. Lauderdale), Florida. The image below is one of three I shot of a 1951 (as near as I can tell) Morgan (handmade in England for several generations now by a family owned company). It was the centerpiece of the Grand Promenade aboard Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. Two more diverse venues one could hardly imagine. And although the two photos do have minor compatibility issues, they come together surprisingly well.

1951 Morgan Plus 4 Coupe.

Although both photos are quite attractive and could easily stand alone as sources for separate paintings, together they meet very well the major criteria I mentioned last week in going to all the trouble to stitch together photos--they end up becoming more than the sum of their parts. Of course, the car steals the show from the fountain, but the fountain and tall buildings play a vital supporting role in providing a much better context than the ship's "sidewalk" café seen in the background of the car photo. Below them are two other photos providing more in-depth details for anyone interested in painting this strikingly beautiful work of automotive art.

Regardless of the angle, the car is nothing short of stunning.

In addition to these, I'm providing two more, neither of which are compatible, but both of which provide interesting possibilities. I have no idea as to the make and model of the blue, 1940s vintage (below) roadster below which suggests it's probably relatively rare. If you decide to paint from that photo, you might do well to leave me out. I've yet to improve the looks of any painting. The final photo (bottom) is the laundry room at La Casa Mila in Barcelona. (I could not find any category in which it might fit.) In this case you might want to try your hand at stitching into the scene a center of interest figure compatible with the background. (Sorry, I have no such image.)

This is from a private collection displayed at a travel plaza
near Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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As the fourteenth and final group in this series, like the others, these photos are available free of charge for use by painters as source material for their own work on an individual basis. Simply e-mail me with a request to do so at jimlane@jimlanart.com and indicate which photo you would like to use as well as your full name (no nicknames) and geographic location. If you have a website, please include the URL. All I ask is that, when finished, you e-mail me a photo of your painting. These images are not for publication as photos (except on a royalty basis) nor are they in the public domain.