Rusty Things

In 2020, on our newly purchased property, we stumbled across a 1951 Mercury with suicide doors that had been cut off and replaced with the bed of a Dodge truck. I was captivated by the way sunlight filtered through the woods and illuminated the weathered yellow metal of the door.

I decided to try to paint the scene, even though I had never painted a car before. What began as a challenge quickly became a fascination. I fell in love with capturing the shapes, light, color, and texture of these forgotten vehicles—and discovering the unexpected beauty in their age and decay.

More than twenty paintings later, I’m still drawn to rusty things. But my “why” has grown beyond simply painting what catches my eye. I want to know the story behind what I paint. Who owned it? What was it used for? Where did it travel? Why was it left behind?

Every old vehicle has a history, and I find myself imagining the people, places, and memories connected to it. Perhaps that is what keeps me looking for the next rusty treasure: not just the beauty of the object itself, but the story waiting to be uncovered.