Ferrari 250 GTO sketch.
When it comes to driving cars, there are two broad categories of people. There are those who buy cars like Toyota Prius and take it through the shortest route possible. And there are those who buy enjoyable cars and take the longer, more eventful trails of tarmac. Paths where they can feel the engine revs reverberate between glass, plastic and metal as they cruise around a cliffside, leaving the scarlet leaves of autumn rustling behind the zephyr while the waves lash on the rock-bed beneath. I like to believe that I belong to the latter, and for good reasons. Here's my peculiar yet un-peculiar clichéd love story that perhaps no one knows.
Back when I a kid, I liked good looking cars. I wanted to keep seeing them all day, from any angle of wherever I was. This wasn't very logical. I couldn't keep a real car because no-money and the presence of inconsiderate architects who thought cars are property that should be kept further even to a dusty doormat. And the toddler-me didn't know there were things called 'posters'. This was a major issue.
So every time I saw a belle, I took a snapshot in my mind, came home and drew a box on two wheels. Eventually those boxes developed curves and became more detailed. That was then. Why do I still draw when there are wallpapers that I can get for free?
This relates to the desire of possession. You see, tasteful cars cost un-tasteful sums of greens, which I still don't possess. I'm working on it and that's what college is about. Goals. And to be honest every time I pick up my Calculus textbook, i think of a car that I like and say "For you baby".
Back to sketching. As you might expect, I became aware of posters soon after a few birthdays passed. But then I saw a car that fueled the need to keep sketching. It was the Lamborghini Gallardo. The very first version. And I knew right at that moment that I'll never look at another car the same as I did before.
Back in those days, boys in class were busy detaching themselves from their toys, and preparing to attach themselves to girls. But my heart was too set on fire by the Lambo to think about much else. I wanted it immediately. I wanted it to be a part of my life. But I couldn't have one. So I painted one. And that's the same motive that urges me to paint today. Every sketch I did made me a part of the car's story, it's significance. It's legend. This later got mixed with the desire to drive them at which point I started adding sceneries in the backdrop. Time progressed and here we are.
It's the same story with the sketch you see above. It's been long since I discovered a car that made my brain fumble while trying to balance words that captured it's essence. It's not a car that you drive fast (although you definitely can), nor is it one that you take to grocery stores. And it certainly isn't one that you own to just for the sake of transportation.
You own it to celebrate the fact that you're alive.