1955 Bel Air Drawing

I was blessed last week to be able to make this 1955 Bel Air Drawing for a repeat customer – this one was his Dad’s car when he was little. What an honor it is to be able to memorialize his father’s car in artwork. Cars are special and meaningful to us not just in the feelings they give us in the moment, but also the memories that follow.

I don’t draw many 4-doors because most people prefer the 2-door versions, but this 1955 is a beautiful example of the top line Bel Air trim. In 1955, Chevrolet offered three trim levels of this car – the 150, 210, and luxury Bel Air at the top. A ton of body style options – 2-door, 4-door, 2-door wagon, 4-door wagon, convertible – were available within each trim level.

I started with a rough pencil sketch, and then lined the drawing with the extra-thin Micron 005 (0.2 mm).

Next, I re-lined the bottom edges and surfaces nearest the viewer with Micron 03, a slightly wider pen to add some perspective. Making the lines around the bumpers, fenders, and nearest surfaces thicker cause the drawing to appear more three-dimensional.

I was very proud of the line work on this 1955 Bel Air Drawing – I thought the lines turned out great!

Next, I used Copic grays to render the body work. The Bel Air wore a two-tone paint scheme, with the top and rear fender painted in white. I used a white charcoal pencil to render the white paint, which really pops on the tan paper.

Finally, I used Posca white paint pen to capture the bright light reflections in the chrome trim, bumpers, and hubcaps. I’m particularly happy with the way the wheels look on this drawing!

It’s framed and shipped to the customer! Thank you!