Today I went back to the hood in more ways than one. This painting of a 1930’s Chevy Vintage Phoenix Hood Ornament came from a 2010 photo that I took at the Woodward Dream Cruise, an annual event that is held in my native city of Detroit. My best guess is that it’s from 1934 or 1935.
Day 15. “Chevy Vintage Phoenix Hood Oranament” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches
I love going to the Woodward Dream Cruise (as do a million other people!) every August to see the classic cars. It’s really amazing how much design work went into the old cars (the same thought I had about the Art of the Motorcycle Exhibit at the Guggenheim in 1998). Driving up and down Woodward Avenue in the Cruise brings back so many memories of my teenage years when that was the highlight of the weekend.
Many years ago I just happened to be in Detroit visiting my mother during the Dream Cruise and went because I was curious about it. I was hooked! For the record, my kids aren’t but they go to humor me. Now I try to be there every year. Recently I started taking photos of hood ornaments, which are really truly elegant works of art.
I started this painting by making a sketch directly on the panel, using my photo as a reference.
I could see faint pink reflections in the hood ornament and decided to use a pink ground, which you can see here defining the shape of the phoenix. After painting the blue background, I felt was too opaque and heavy looking. I used a large brush to soften it, taking off some of the paint to allow the pink ground to peek through and warm up the sky in the final painting. My other secret weapon for taking unwanted paint off panel is the lowly Q-tip, which came in handy several times. The important thing is to look closely at the subject and capture the sharp juxtapositions between the darkest and lightest surfaces, and the highlights – which kicked this painting up a notch.
I had wanted to paint this for a long time, both because the stylized design is striking and it’s metal. Lately I have been trying to push myself to paint subjects made from different materials.
Tomorrow I’m going to get started early so I can be finished by lunch, when I have to leave. At least that’s the plan.
Thanks for stopping by today and coming along for the ride.
