Welcome October

No painting today, instead I'm taking this day to relax a bit. A month of doing 30 paintings really is exhausting. I am a fan of October, not only because it is my birth month but I love this time of year for another reason. Horror films!!! I love em and to celebrate I've just binge watched season 4 of the Walking Dead. I know I'm slow, and Netflix is to blame for adding it so late. But now that season 5 is here, and I don't have AMC I'll have to find other ways to get my fix. I've also decided to start a new series of paintings based off classic Twilight a Zone episodes. So this month you can expect to see paintings representing some of my favorites like "To Serve Man". My post might shift from daily to once or twice a week, but I will be adding new things soon. If you're not following my blog please do, and let me know some of your favorite TZ episodes or horror films. Here's a couple of sketches for some paintings I'm planning.

TZ concepts

Painting 30

I made it through the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge!!!  Wow what a ride ( no pun intended). Looking back,  I learned that when it comes to painting,  it's much easier to paint what I love  as opposed to painting something I'm hired or instructed to paint. There were a few days in there that I wanted to skip and take a break, but my fellow artists were very encouraging and routed for me to keep going. Another motivating factor was that this was not for money but for my own enjoyment. I admit I was hoping someone would buy at least one painting, but now I have a nice collection of  vehicular art that I didn't have 30 days ago. I don't really think I want to part with any of these, they all mean a little something to me.  My plan will be to take a few to some local galleries to see if I can get a few displayed if not sold. But for now I'm enjoying them on my own walls.
  I think I will continue doing vehicular art paintings. Maybe not daily but I do hope the tiny audience I have here grows into a nice group of supporters.  I'd like to thank Leslie Saeta for doing this challenge, and I'd especially like to thank the ones who left comments. Your words helped keep me motivated and focused. So I'm ending this challenge with a piece I call "The End", a caboose from the train museum in Winter Garden. A good friend and I have targeted this red caboose for one of our plein air paint outs. Very nostalgic, I love old trains and had a set with a red caboose similar to this one. I hope you guys have enjoyed these 30 paintings, please let me know which ones you love, hate, or would like to see me try again. I welcome your words good or bad.
Mad luv and keep spilling the paint!
Ray

"The End" gouache 

Painting 29

I follow a group on Facebook called "Cars, Trucks and Dogs" and they post some of the most outrageously beautiful machines I've seen. This one really stood out to me.  Maybe it was the grass under this dark hot rod with the bright red nose. Or maybe the vibrant reflection of the blue green windshield. So much good cheese on this burger.

Painting 29 gouache 

Painting 28

I painted this model of an WWI  RAF fighter plane after a long day of work. I resisted all urges to just pass out and powered through this painting. Unfortunately I think it shows. After only learning to paint in this past year, and using gouache for the first time this month, I think I did a fair job.
Indoor light was hard to simulate so I tried to give it a more natural appearance.

Painting 28

Painting 27

I decided to try a different vehicle for this one. The modern sleek locomotive is quite different than vintage locomotive engines.  This big guy was moving too fast for me to paint on the spot so I photographed this one.

Painting 27 gouache 

Painting 26

Muscle cars, how can one not love the designs of Americas great muscle cars?heres another that deserves a larger canvas.

Painting 26 gouache 

Painting 25

This 4 door 57 Chevy was a struggle to get through. The length of the car just seemed wonky. I think ultimately the scale of everything became a huge challenge. I also had a hard time with my colors on this one. The orange building just keeps wanting some of the spotlight. Well there's always tomorrow.

Painting 25 gouache