350 V-8, 2006, oil on canvas 48 x 74 inches
from the artist's website
sarcoptiform found another good one
Visited this artist's studio a few years back (like, nine) and hadn't checked the website in a while but I remembered the style almost immediately when I saw the image at sarcoptiform's. Padgett was painting fake wood panel apartment walls and showing them like large monochromes--his way of painting grain was instantly recognizable.
Liking how the park-like landscape is wedged into the top corner of this painting. Also some apparent editing of the V-8 down to the salient parts, each rendered with careful attention. The word "surreal" didn't originally mean unreal but rather extra- or above-real--as if something heightened senses would show us. Normally vision is just a sweeping blur but this painting focuses us on every part of the car engine at once. Transforming it from the banal motorhead fantasy to a peak experience.