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MEDIUM: Watercolor on Paper
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SIZE: 30" x 22"
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STATUS: For sale $1000, in a double mat of ivory and brown suede, under plexiglass, in a gold sectional frame
"This painting combines some of my favorite painting subjects: an old vehicle, a weathered farm building, animals, barbed wire, and wildflowers! The fire truck was my first inspiration and the other elements were added to put it into an imaginery rural setting.
When I photographed the truck as reference for the painting, it was parked on the north side of a commercial building, with a "for sale" sign propped on the bumper. The only way to get the truck in even lighting was to photograph it on an overcast day, but I like the more dramatic lighting of bright sunshine. So I opted for early morning light, which cast the least amount of shadow from the adjacent building. In place of that building, I decided to use a reference from my photo files of a small old farm building. This set the stage for making it look like the truck was abandoned in a barnyard.
The title 'Volunteers' is inspired by my home state of Tennessee, the Volunteer State. Our rural fire departments are manned by volunteers, as the door on the old truck states. Coker Creek is a small unincorporated community just south of my town, so the truck has local ties."
