We were staying in Santa Fe, New Mexico with a friend while I worked a job in Albuquerque. Our friend is a professional photographer and would often take me to places that she knew I would love to photograph. One day, as we headed to Taos, she stopped at an establishment that I can only describe as a gas pump graveyard. It was full of rusty pumps and race cars, sagebrush and steel.
I wandered the premises for hours, taking hundreds of photos. Such texture! So much color! The character! I was in heaven.
I concentrated on the close ups that lended themselves to the abstracted fiber art that I was doing at the time. However, a few wider angle shots were more appropriate to painting and when I started painting, I pulled them out. This painting came from that trip.
I still thumb through that pile of photos periodically, looking for inspiration. And sometimes, I find it.