Many years ago I was idly following a truck on my way to work when I actually looked at it, and its size and compositional strength within the confines of the country road were stupendous. It was a hexagonal tank supported on rows of joists, and I never found that truck again, but I did find 'Truck No 1' parked by the side of the road, so painted that instead and, over the years, I have again and again been caught breathless by yet another bloody truck, which I have then felt utterly compelled to capture and paint. They have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Jeffrey Smart.
My husband was driving when I saw Truck No 2 and 3, which I have now painted three times, but the 'Truck Approaching a Bend', a dark blot on a clear road, which I have also used three times, was tanking along the freeway between Murray Bridge and Adelaide, at 120 Ks and I was on my own. Taking photos while driving really confuses the whole spatial thing.
The 'Truck Passing a Farm Gate' was delivering dolomite to our property, much to the amusement of the driver, and the stock truck in '... and Joggers' and 'Mud Gate & Gibbet' was at the same rodeo that Bull Rider came from.
The first magnificent shiny black tar truck was surrounded by blokes by the side of the road and was almost immediately followed by the smashed crash barrier but many years passed before that same combination of images came together with this last tar truck.