"What?! You're Painting a Used Car Lot?"

As many of you have figured out by now, Doug doesn’t paint just the same ol' “traditional” stuff! He paints what his world is made of, much the same way Charles Russell painted cowboys and indians. I remember the first time Doug decided to paint a car lot in Ogden, I thought to myself, and unfortunately out loud, "A big gorilla hanging over a couple of used cars? Are you kidding me? Who in the world would want a painting like that hanging in their living room!” Well, I ate my words. Not only ate those words for lunch but for years to come! mmmmm, how I've learned to love crow! And as they say in Boulder, Utah, they were pretty darn good! Since that time, car lots with the big blow-up "enticements" have made their way into Doug's painting archives. (some of which are on his website) The Rookie and Quality Assurance are two of my favorites.

The Rookie
8 x 10

From the car lots, he began looking for interesting compositions from just driving down a street, again, the streets that we drive every day. "Saccos Fruit Stand," that we drive by on almost a daily basis, was painted in 2004 in Roy, Utah was one of the pioneers that was recognized by locals with just the big “banana” sign! here I am, eating more crow! Who'da thunk? A banana sign? Seriously? Other iconic signs were easily recognized, such as China Nite's Buddah (Call of the Moorlocks) in Ogden, Classic’s bowling pin (6:19 Downtown) in Salt Lake City or Carls Jr. burger stand (Hunters Gatherers) in St. George are among the hundreds of cityscapes that are in Doug’s archives.

Quality Assurance
8 x 10

A little about us . . . Doug and I have been married for almost 23 years and live in the home that Doug grew up in. He has always been the "stay at home dad" and I have always worked outside the home, thus never getting the opportunity to "tag along" on painting trips . . . until this summer. Can I just say that . . . well . . . this has been THE GREATEST SUMMER EEEEVER! I've been on all these "working" trips. Yeah right . . . whatever. They were full-fledged vacations for me with all the crucial elements of the perfect vacation . . . hotel, pool, golf, reading, more golf, good food and, of course, a constant supply of ice and fresca! I tried to look busy . . . ya know, checking emails, sending in entry forms, balancing the checkbook! But seriously, it's been fantastic!

Recently we spent four days in Midway where we did a plein air competition. Notice how I say WE? :) This quaint little town with red barns and fields was so terrific! Doug would go out and paint in the morning while I "worked" vigilantly by the pool and then when Doug was done painting, we would head to Wasatch Golf Course to exercise play 9 holes of golf . . . this turned out to be a lot of work on my part--hitting the ball so many times in one afternoon is draining! WE were so tired after such a rough day at work!)

Barn Study
5 x 7

To make myself more useful and feel more a part of this "we" painting venture, I tagged along for the quick-draw competition. "Wow hon, are you sure you can work that into your schedule today?" Doug asked with a wink and a smile. Well, tagging along meant that I was going to sit in the Element and read Twilight! Oh, and of course, I'll go get water . . . we were only a half a block from 7-11! Nice choice of locations!! We had many visitors who walked by, and one in particular said "hey, that's the view from our house!" which incidentally ended up being the title of the painting!

It was great watching the painting come together. A little purple paint was used to "draw" the composition, using all kinds of things besides just his brushes, like his fingers and q-tips! I would check the progress every half hour or so (it's part of my job, ya know!) but I have to say, the last 15 or 20 minutes were the BEST!

Watching him put the final touches on this little painting was great. Mix a little paint, match the color, then balancing the “painting hand” on the other arm, make a strategic “stroke” or “dot” on a sign, post, for-sale sign, or a rose bush. One stroke. Done. Cleans off the brush. My heckling comments vary . . . “That’s it? One dot? You're done? You gonna waste all that paint? Well shoot, I could do that!” No response. I'm thinking, he's so patient with me! Then I realize, he's got his ipod in and can't hear a word I'm saying!

A View From Our House
5 x 7

He's certainly got a knack for capturing his surroundings and our lives as we know them now. . . . each painting a little time stamp of a place where Doug and his paintbrush spent a little time . . . it may be your street, it may be your farm, it may be you at a local water park (Clearfield Water Park)! Nonetheless, it's been a great way to capture the last 23 years of our lives! And that, my friends, is a little more from my perspective . . .