Big Yellow Taxi - SOLD

"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot" - Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell

Ok, I could not resist that little trip down memory lane. For those of you not familiar with the song or with Joni, or just want to reminisce - check out this youtube link.

This is my painting for the ADNW website, and the August challenge. Lee took a fantastic photo of this old, yellow, full-restored to prime condition, checkered taxi and posted it as our challenge. I became fascinated by the grill and the reflections, so I did a cropped version of the image so I could focus on those. This took a bit of time to paint. Partly because of all the color spots & shapes, but also because I redid the blue reflections 3 times to get the shade I wanted. I'm pretty happy with the final result.

These big ole' taxi's were common in NYC back in the 70's (and probably the 80's also). Their interiors were huge - with so much leg space you could probably bring an entire set of luggage in with you. However, all that space also enabled you to "fly through the air" when the cab swerved or stopped short in traffic - LOL! 

These cabs were commonplace in various films too (such as Taxi Driver) and TV shows (the unforgettable "Taxi"). I always loved seeing them, and being able to flag one down in Manhattan - and I was sad when they were replaced.  Thanks Lee, for a reminder of something special!

Acrylic on 9x12 canvas