Here is the first of what will, hopefully, be a yearly piece for me. I had a lot of fun doing this painting and then the reaction of some of the racers was very rewarding. I was surprised at the prevailing indifference to the poster, but to those who did want it were so appreciative that I'll definitely keep doing them. 
It takes months to do a painting, your commitment has to be like a rock to keep after it. When you are happy with the outcome, it's pretty satisfying. All that deliberation over the design is finally realized. 
I met the owner of Arcadia Ales at a local restaurant in the end of 2008. Through casual conversation, the request for my input as to why his tap markers were breaking (I had on my Plastics Engineer hat at that time) turned into a conversation of how we could bring that manufacturing home from China to here in the states, let alone Michigan, let alone Kalamazoo. 3-4 months later the first set of markers were installed at Arcadia Ales this weekend. What a great opportunity for both companies. 
The color is added slowly. It takes a long time to build up all the layers, but it definitely adds a depth and detail that can't be achieved otherwise. The pic above is two or three layers of glazed color. I glaze with straight liquin as the medium, usually. 
You can see some differences in this pic from the previous. This is about two additional layers worth. Each layer takes about 48 hours to dry. Like I said, it takes a long time. A great glazing trick is to wipe the entire panel with a very thin layer of cold pressed linseed oil prior to painting.
The under painting is a mixture of burnt sienna with a fair amount of 50/50 liquin and linseed oil. The paint is brushed over the entire panel then removed from the lighter areas. This is not a great photo, but sometimes this stage alone could pass for a finished painting, and I'm telling ya', the wiping away process is key- far more important than you might imagine.
I haven't painted in about a year. Sad, yes. So I have started a new one and I figured that I would photo the process. I have no idea if this painting will be any good or not, but that will lend a little excitement to the whole thing. 
I have taken to painting solely on plywood. I put three coats of gesso on a panel then sand it. Except this time... I tried something new by using a roller to apply the gesso instead of a brush. The surface is more uniform, smooth, and has a lot of tooth. I like it a lot, so far. I do the drawing using a Stabilo pencil, as it is the only pencil that won't smear under the first coat of Liquin and Yellow Ochre:
The yellow ochre creates a warm base-tone for the painting and the liquin seals it all to start. 
In the 2004 spring/summer issue of Men's Health's, "Best Life", writer Jim Gorant wrote an article about Pre-war Chris Craft boats. The opening paragraph of his article has been committed to my memory since the first time I read it:
