First Quarter 2023 Car Art

This has been a weird year so far. I ended the holiday season feeling pretty burned out and didn’t create any artwork for the entire month of January. In the beginning of February, I decided to pull myself out of the funk and get started. To do it, I started experimenting with a new style, which has a comic book feel to it.

My first drawing wasn’t even a car. I chose to draw this Buck Rogers XZ-38 Disintegrator ray gun, and used red marker to create the dotted splotch outline. I think it looks pretty cool! This drawing really helped me to get some momentum in February.

Next, I drew this white wall tire mounted on a chrome smoothie wheel, and used the same splotching effect behind it. It’s a very simple sketch, but it felt good to make. The aqua splotches really lend to the midcentury feel.

Keeping with the same feel, I drew this spark plug with some midcentury design elements in the background. The variety of greens gives a fun midcentury flavor. Someone pointed out that the threads are backwards. Oops.

Some of my favorite artists are actually furniture designers, so playing in that sandbox, I sketched this midcentury couch with some brown splotches. I’m really digging the splotch technique – it’s fun.

I’m not in to the religion aspects, but I think the midcentury tiki design motif is fun. After visiting Tiki Sam’s at Disney World, I had to make a tiki sketch of my own.

Time to get down to business. Here’s my first car of 2023. It’s a late ’20s sedan wearing a white body which really pops on the tan card stock. I used a white paint pen for the body and an aqua marker for the splotches. I love how this drawing turned out.

Next, I drew this white coupe on tan card stock. I liked the feel of this one without the splotches, so I chose to keep them off.

This one was way out of my comfort zone. I was asked to create some Maine landscapes, which is a big departure from drawing cars. I was honored to have the opportunity. I think landscapes look better in watercolor, so I sketched them out in pencil and rendered them using watercolor pencils. I think they turned out pretty good!

This drawing is one of the most recent I’ve created, and one of the coolest. This drawing is of a 1917 Hollier Eight for the Hollier family. Despite not being a common household name today, the family history is pretty amazing.

Finally, I reimagined this first gen Camaro from last year. This sketch has more graphics and I incorporated the splotching technique to give some pizzazz. I think it’s cool.

Now that I’ve got a little momentum, hopefully this year can be one of new friendships and experiences! Looking forward to what the summer holds!

Our first show is May 6-7 at the Michigan Antiques Festival! See you there!