Re: Message from the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio

Posted by BH On 2020/5/11 9:12:48

BTW, whatever its flaws, that MT Retrospective piece was one of three magazine articles that, initially, helped fuel my interest Packards - shortly after finding my father's old '56 Exec Hardtop quietly rusting away in a field.

I was in high school, then, with little budget for hobbies, but I availed myself of the available resources to attempt an oil painting of the magnificent center-spread photo that you cited, earlier. However, I wasn't able to capture the look of all that chrome and stainless. My (naive) approach had been to use shades of gray. I didn't understand, until several years later, that the key was to paint what was reflected in the polished surfaces.

Still, the resulting work attracted enough attention to win second place in its class at the annual high school art show. Maybe that's because I later learned (only recently) that art isn't so much about duplicating reality as it is how the artist "sees" things. That I had (unintentionally) somewhat enhanced the bustline of the striped tube top of the model sitting behind the wheel probably didn't hurt, either - LOL.

Alas, my mother did not like that painting at all. So, it was banished to the garage, and was eventually tossed into the burning barrel, suffering from exposure. If life ever settles down to the point that I can pursue my own interests, again, I'd like to pick up the brush and canvas to attempt another painting of that scene. However, there's so much more in play, here, than the current pandemic.