1973 Corvette Stingray en Plastique

20" x 26", watercolour on Yupo plastic, 2009

This painting is in my current show at The Pilot Tavern in Yorkville (see previous post for details), ongoing through Christmas.

This isn't a classic example of a 1973 Corvette Stingray (or one from any year, for that matter), but it is a great example of 1970s-style shiny hot rod customization. This car was designed for and was featured in the 1978 film, "Corvette Summer" starring Mark Hamill as a high school student who transforms a piece of junk from the scrapyard into the gleaming beast pictured above.

I remember seeing this movie in the theatre for my cousin's birthday. He was really into cars back then --and still is: Bob's had his own auto body shop for most of his adult life. Thing is, I was only around six years old at the time and I was more interested in seeing Luke Skywalker again than I was in the hot rods featured in the movie. But this car did strike a chord with me and I've always admired its design. This is my tribute.

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