Rust! The texture of rusted metal was my inspiration for this piece. I was amazed to find how many different colors there are in bare, oxidized, and otherwise chemically altered metal. I believe every color on the palette ended up in use on the more heavily rusted areas.  I also enjoyed finding the subtle contrast of the heavily shadowed grill, the texture of the dry-rotted tire and the vague, soft reflection fof the yellow grill on the rusted fender.

I suspect I’ll be re-visiting this nearby junkyard for continued material and inspiration. There must be over 100 pre-1960 cars in there, every one an opportunity for a new reflection of light. I used a fairly long lens for this photograph, largely to throw the chainlink fence between me and the car out of focus enough so I could see what I was looking at. I decided to keep the soft-focus shrubbery in the foreground, but eliminated the fence.