whitecap bulldozer

At dawn yesterday morning, when I was wandering the yard in Whitecap docks and looking for material to paint, I passed by some beautiful fishing vessels, a landlocked row boat that was overflowing with potted flowers, some fishing supplies leaning up against the wall.  Each of these caught my eye, but somehow I wasn’t captivated.  I kept wandering the docks, then decided to walk inland a bit, to the warehouse area.  There, I found this rusting brontosaurus, living out its last days in front of a run down warehouse.  The light on it was beautiful- some of the bulldozer was bathed in the early morning rays, some of it was thrown back into darkness.

But, aesthetics aside, it just somehow seemed like a visual version of a Johnny Cash song.  The tractor felt right.  And, it’s nice to not take something too seriously, and just enjoy painting.

The critics are raving about this piece, I am getting such good coverage.  I brought the painting home, and Liam flipped out.  In keeping with his love for tractors, he said “Dad, I love tractor.”  So, I feel good about the painting.

Then the section foreman said, “Hey! Hammer-swinger!
I see you your own hammer boy but, what all can them muscles do?” and he said,
“I can turn a jack I can lay a track I can pick and shovel too.”
“Can you swing a hammer, boy?” “Yes sir, I’ll do anything you hire me to.”

“John Henry”, Johnny Cash

Click here to listen to the audio track for this painting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1BfcIA1Lv8