In a culture in which people are easily lured by the appeal of status-enhancing symbols, I find beauty in derelict cars and unkempt landscapes. I have always been interested in painting vehicles and scenes that have defined the evolution of the American landscape. 

In this particular series, I commemorate commercial vehicles inundated with graffiti and rust, working vehicles, and well-traveled recreational vehicles. I find that there is so much character in old delivery trucks and vans—especially when covered with graffiti—and in the old RVs parked in someone’s yard off a main road. Removing them from their everyday context gives them portrait-like importance. I paint with devoted attention to every imperfection and sign of age. 

Painting and drawing these objects gives me a chance to document a time and place, and to make still a part of the ever-changing environment.

Illustrations by Kevin Cyr. Brooklyn, New York. www.kevincyr.net