Meet Scott Wade – a talented artist whose window art is a little different. Now, every creative and curious person can’t resist jazzing up a dirty car window by sticking their fingers all over it and we suspect that Scott even started with such clever sayings, like “wash me”. However, his later drawing ideas have become much more sophisticated and he has even created photorealistic artworks in the back windscreen of cars.
He lives on a mile and a half of dirt road – caliche, as the locals call it, road-base: a blend of limestone and gravel clay. Driving over this surface results in a fine, white dust that billows up behind any vehicle driven faster than a galloping turtle, coating the rear window. Being an experienced artist, it wasn’t long before Scott started experimenting with this art medium to achieve these amazingly cool drawings.
He’s even been commissioned to create his strange art professionally. “I'm hired by ad agencies, PR firms and event management companies to demonstrate at events, do publicity stunts and create work for ad campaigns,” Scott explained on his website. Although this impermanent art doesn’t last forever, Scott is never down about the rain washing off his artwork in the end. Now let’s have a look at his amazing dust art, and if some of you’d like Scott at your event, you can always contact him here.
1. Two Thumbs Up – Portrait of Scott Wade
2. Uncle Albert
“Saw Uncle Albert on the cover of a magazine and thought he might appreciate the relativity of dirty car art...” – S.W.
3. Ronaldinho
“When Brazil's TV Globo asked to do a work of dust art for their show, Fantastico," I wondered what image would be recognized and appreciated by their viewers. I figured I couldn't go wrong with soccer (football in every other country in the world), and who better to use as my subject than the great Ronaldinho? I received many wonderful emails from Brazil. There's apparently something about dirty car art that strikes a chord with many Brazilians. I hope they enjoy this” – S.W.
4. Girl With A Pearl Earring
“Felt a little bold taking on a Vermeer (not sure why I had no qualms about Da Vinci or Van Gogh), but I couldn't resist "Girl With A Pearl Earring." This one was tricky. I did it over a previous drawing that had been rained on. There were places where the dust had been caked on, and it didn't brush off evenly at all. I had to kind of stab the clods with a bristle brush to break it up enough to get some intermediate tones. That's what gives this one a sort of stipple effect.” – S.W.
5. On the Road
6. Happy Holidays
“Guess I did this one in December...Some of these early pieces were done very quickly, just really getting used to the medium” – S.W.
7. Friend in Need
8. American Gothic
“Grant Wood's famous painting was a real challenge and great fun to attempt in dust.” – S.W.
9. Rapture of Pop and Fresh
10. Hylas & the Nymphs
“From the marvelous Waterhouse painting. I did this for the Seattle Art Car Blowout at the Fremont Fair. What a wonderful time with some very cool & wacky people!” – S.W.
11. Mona Lisa / Starry Night
“This image featuring works of classical art Leonardo's "Mona Lisa" with Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is shown at its peak. These images drawn in the dust are obviously quite impermanent. One of the cool things about them is how they change over time. More dust accumulates as the car is driven down the road. Early morning dew streaks and dots the image, creating a patina. A light shower creates a deeper patina...” – S.W.
12. The Hay Wain
“This one was also from my appearance on the Richard & Judy show. I had 4 days in London, only one of which was a working day, so I got to see a lot of great stuff. I spent a lot of time in the British Museum & the National Gallery. I've been very fortunate to get to travel some with Dirty Car Art. As my friends like to say, "who'd a thunk it?" –S.W.
13. Pet Fest
“My ex-hometown of San Marcos is host to a great event: Pet Fest. Every year, San Martians (some call them San Marcoans, but they're just not cool) bring their pets to City Park for a day of music, contests, demonstrations, food and fun. In my role as local drummer, I often play with various musical acts there, and one year I also demonstrated some dirty car art. “– S.W
14. Mt. Rushmore
15. Trapped!
“Thought it would be funny to have a kid in the rear window, yelling for help. When I decided to try this, I took a picture of my 12 y/o daughter. Turned out kinda creepy. Might try this again with a younger, male kid, and do it more cartoony.”-S.W.
16. Wild Flowers
17. The Birth of Venus
“It was just a matter of time before I had to do a nude "Dirty Picture," don't you think? This one was a little ambitious for me to do in the usual hour or less. I didn't time myself, but I'm sure I worked on this one for at least 90 minutes. Trying to pay homage to Botticelli's brilliance in the dust, I really appreciate the Master's amazing talent and abilities. And if 'Beauty' isn't a fitting subject for the art of impermanence, I don't know what is.”-S.W.
18. Texas Women
19. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
P.S: I do not wash my car lately, waiting for Scott to pass by and do a cool artwork of his.