I remember going to Colorado as a child in the late 1940's and driving into a gas station with these visible gas pumps. I loved watching the gas being filled into the cylinder by manually pumping the side handle. The glass tanks held 10 gallons and cost 0.21 cents a gallon. Once the glass cylinder was filled, gravity fed the fuel from the pump to your car. We've come a long way from the "good old days".
I thought it would be fun to paint the same subject several times so I chose camping tents. I came up with the tent idea when I watched Oprah and her friend Gayle go camping in Yosemite on TV the other day. Of course, their pop up tent was much more glamorous than these, but I like the color that a canvas tent has to offer when the sunlight hits it
I love the look of these two gas pumps, still standing tall at the curb, where they had once been a convenience to drivers years ago. The pumps of today are faster and sleeker but these pumps had a certain friendly sound, as they did their job, that can never, in my mind be replaced.
I love painting portraits of people and animals. When I ran across a publicity photo from the movie Babe, with the farmer and his prize pig, I went right to work capturing their images. I think Farmer Hoggett ( is there a pun there?) who was played by James Cromwell is a very handsome man and Babe, well what more do I have to say, but adorable!
