Thursday, August 26, 2010

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

5 comments:

Angela Sullivan said...

Once again you have captured your subject ever so perfectly.

Sally Evans said...

WOW! This is awesome!!!! I almost had to put on my shades to shield that reflection!

r garriott said...

Absolutely beautiful!!! Love your use of yellow, and the wonderful hues in the chrome. Great crop. Thanks for the Joni reference-- the song popped into my head just seeing your title.

Autumn Leaves said...

Absolutely beautifully done! Just this past Saturday I saw new yellow taxis...They were Kia Souls downtown Chicago!

Paula said...

Holy awesomeness! You really did an awesome job! I love the reflections, the brilliant colors, the shadows, everything! It is realistic but still obviously a painting. Perfect!

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