1942 CHEVY TRUCK / Final Resting Place

From the idea to the finished design-

Every project has its own unique challenges. Most artists however, having gone through many other creative battles, have developed systems that allow them to move forward. Often times the finished product doesn't reflect the arduous process of decision making that goes into making the image work; but be assured, the artist has struggled and experimented with many choices to get a project to the point it is finished.

Step 1

The first step in this particular project was taking a photograph. It was a subject I stumbled onto one day when I was out looking at antiques; other times, when I am looking for something specific, it might take me all day to find just the right shot. As a general rule I seldom go anywhere these days that I don't take my camera.

Step 2

Once I have a photo to work with it is downloaded to my computer and opened in Photoshop. Here I can size it and make any adjustments to exposure that are needed. Once the image is ready to move forward I study it and begin to envision how to enhance it. In this case I began by taking out background and replacing it with sky. What I liked about this choice was the depth that it added to the picture. What you don't see here are all the other images I tried in the background before I made this decision.

Step 3

This is the final version of the original photo. I wish I had made snapshots of all the experimentation I went through to get to this point, but I find that when I work I am making so many quick decisions that stopping every few seconds would make forward progress impossible. Ultimately I wanted the truck to be set in a peaceful environment, a place where it seemed it belonged. I also wanted to suggest the idea of a resting place, a graveyard. The red lines are almost like hieroglyphics and are there to add mystery.