Labor Day Weekend...

Racecar13.com was built to promote art. Art is what I do. Paintings, drawings, commercial jobs... its all connected. This blog page ought to be connected as well. Hopefully it will be. A painting just doesn't happen spontaneously. I used to think that they did. I'm finding out that more often strong influences can come from small details. Every artist has a unique way of filtering and composing their thoughts. I've been looking over old works and realizing that I have memories attached to them. Songs that were playing while I was painting, jobs on my mind while I was drawing... all seemingly random yet definitely woven into the final product.
What did John Singer Sargent listen to when he painted? Did Jacque Louis David contemplate paying his rent while creating his master works? Who was trying to wrap up one last section before dinner or trips to the pub? Who was hung over or had to take a dump? Surely Picasso had something unrelated to work running around in his mind while mid way through some mulit-million dollar painting.
In no way would I consider myself on any level near those greats, yet everyone who spends time on their own art, no matter how famous, how rich or how old... has in common the virtuous patter of little things rolling around in their own brainpan's while scratching out new creations. These blogs will be for those little things.


This particular blog is about Labor Day. More specifically, what I did on Labor Day weekend. I made my way to the Orange County Fairgrounds for... The Great Labor Day Cruise. The big choice with this weekend is to either hit Ventura Fairgrounds to attend the wildly successful Primer Nationals car show, or do as I did and check out the cruise. Times are rough for car guys. I am a confirmed car junkie as my credit card company will attest to... I'm on the phone with catalog people more then I talk to my own mother... Sorry mom! Gas prices and green people are making life difficult for those who love high octane. So crowds can be a little thin, but diehard gear heads won't be shut down.
The ever popular, highly advertised, often exploited car culture society is as random and chaotic as any other group of enthusiasts. The old guys, the traditionalists, the period types, posers, kids and general public. I personally gravitate towards the older styles and customs. I love the lines of the old bodies, the tricked out headders and blown big blocks. What the old school drag guys put together back when technology was more in the hands of people in back yards. I guess anything up to the early 70's can get me to stop and stare. So I snapped a few pics with my trusty old Cannon SD400, made a little vid and it ends up here. I hope you like this blog page so far. I'll keep adding as time and new fodder allow. Have a good day-

T