playing with dirt

As an aspiring artist and a lover of all things creative, I am often in awe of some the amazing ways individuals choose to express their creative talents. Some make accessories, some draw portraits, some take photographs…but there are many non-traditional ways to make art that often don’t get as much appreciation or attention and I think it’s because they are just that – non-traditional.
This dirty car art fits into that last category. No, I don’t think I would display this in or around my house but it has definitely struck me as not only creative but also so cleverly well done. I am truly in awe of the work done by artist Scott Wade who breaks out his brushes to gently remove sand and reveal realistic and beautiful images on the windows of dirty cars. The closest to art I’ve come on windows in need of a wash is a smiley face next to the words ‘clean me!’. It never really crossed my mind that someone could look at a dirty car the same way I do at a blank canvas. To think that a masterpiece could be created (and destroyed in moments!) on an object that I wouldn’t normally classify as art is such an interesting concept.
But that’s what I love about art…that it can come in the most unusual forms or by seemingly unconventional practices and still demand respect for it’s beauty, difficulty, or just because it’s something that the artist thought of in an interesting way. In my own artistic endeavors, I often get caught up in the rules of what’s accepted or what looks beautiful but then become hypocritical because I believe art doesn’t have to have rules. If you look out your car window and think, it’s so dirty, I’ve got to get it cleaned, it doesn’t mean someone else won’t look out theirs and think, it’s so dirty, I’ve got to get my paint brush. I love that creativity comes in all forms. I love that, in my opinion, art can be defined differently by everyone and can never be defined wrong.

What interesting artists have you come across lately? Would you call Scott Wade’s creations ‘art’?

{Photos via here and here where you can find his whole gallery}