Air cooled volkswagens

[Kyle Martin]

Hello everyone,
Those old air cooled vw’s spark nostalgia into all of us, and I couldn’t resist painting them on a Sunday afternoon last May.
This is at Percy’s garage, in Madison, Wisconsin. It is a great old service shop for vw’s. The owner knows everything there is to know about these cars. I hope once he retires someone else keeps it going

The sight size is 16x24”, and the framed size is 22x30”. I know it’s not a standard size, but I love painting with the 2x3 format. I have my frames made by a local Amish cabinet maker. The wood is harvested only a few miles from my studio.

 

[OliveOyl]

Hi Kyle. I like this painting and it reminds me of my first car which was a ‘66 orange Karmann Ghia convertible. It made me fond of VW’s forever. I also like your website and the chunky, blocky and bright style you have. Your work reminds me of colorforms which I loved doing as a kid.

Do you remember any of those things, or are you a young whippersnapper??

 

[Kyle Martin]

Thank you, OliveOyl,
I love the old vw’s as well. I learned to drive stick on a 72 bug, and have a ‘63 parked in a shed at my place now. I’ve had it for 25 years. I have fond memories of those cars, I am indeed a young whippersnapper.

Thanks for the comments on my color and shape making . For me painting is more fun when I’m designing with the contrasts of big shapes.
I looked at your site and I’m an instant fan of your work as well.
Have a great evening,
Kyle

 

[Terri]

I adore and love every inch of this, Kyle! The palette is so spot on for these vehicles. Even the loose style reflects the feel of that automotive era. Perfection!

 

[Terri]

my first car which was a ‘66 orange Karmann Ghia convertible

A Ghia girl! One of my old friends had one, and we had a blast driving around in that thing.

Hers was "that" orange, too! Great cars.

 

[Kyle Martin]

I adore and love every inch of this, Kyle! The palette is so spot on for these vehicles. Even the loose style reflects the feel of that automotive era. Perfection!

Thanks, Terri, I’m glad you like the loose handling on this one the cars directed it. I’m having fun remembering the old vw days hahah.

 

[Bartc]

Looks just like my old blue bus!

 

[Jo Castillo]

Awwww, love this. The shapes and colors are super. Very large for such a quick plein air. I like this so much.

 

[Artyczar]

Kyle, wow! LOVE your technique and style here, and your amazing brushstrokes. And the subject matter--one of my favorites, as I owned many, many old V-dubs. I used to restore type 3 bodies (Fastbacks, Squarebacks, Ghias, etc.) I had them all. The Squareback of 1970 was the first fuel-injected car, and I had one of those too. That was the last one I had in the 1990s, the last one I restored that I sold for a mere $4K. I bet it would be worth many times that now.

 

[gbritnell]

Great loose style! Wonderful colors!

 

[Kyle Martin]

Thanks everyone, those old VW's make great subjects.
Ayin, that is very cool that you owned so many air cooled VWs. I have always loved the Karman Ghias and Squarebacks. They are such intereresting cars, and there are so few on the roads now here in Wisconsin. I have a 64 bug parked in my shed that I have owned for 25 years.

 

[Triduana]

I very much like the style of this.

Some great stories in this thread too!

 

[gbritnell]

I'm a car guy anyway so I like anything to do with them. I really like the colors. They really pop out!

 

[snoball]

Great painting of Love Bugs and Hippie wagons! Well done, Kyle.

 

[Kyle Martin]

Thanks for the replies and the positivity towards my vw’s! I just finished teaching a weekend plein air workshop, and one of the students flew in from Ohio. She found me through my YouTube video of this painting and loved the style so much she wanted to take a class from me. It goes to show that vw’s are a universally loved subject for painting.