Plowing Asphalt

When Cynthia wrote me and said that she wanted an illustration of her husband driving his tractor I imagined an idyllic rural scene with a farmer plowing his field - tending to his crop. But when I saw the photos she sent I realized we were talking about something entirely different.

Cynthia's husband is the proud owner of this antique piece of machinery, and the only field it ever sees is the one made of asphalt, running up and down the city of Phoenix, Arizona. She said he liked to take it to the hardware store, and uses it to pull floats in parades.

Look at that thing! What a challenge to try and illustrate! (This is not actually the one he owns, but a good photo of one almost entirely like his.)

Cynthia said that his tractor has a literal top speed of 8 miles an hour. She thought it would be fun to hop it up and make it look like it was zooming down a city street. So I took one of the photos she sent me, traced the complicated piece of metal work onto the paper, added tractor style racing tires, and put him at the helm. What do you think?

This was meant to be a Father's Day gift for today, and so I haven't gotten an update on his response to the drawing. I hope he liked it and I hope to have an update to share with you later.

In the meantime: Since it's Father Day, here are the young ladies that call me Father. Actually, they call me Daddy, or Dad. The oldest came up with the name "Chard" for me. It's a take on RiCHARD. I always tell them my name is Daddy to them, and that's what they should call me. But it hasn't seem to stop them. Now days, I think they can call me anything. Just call me.

This photo is from Christmas. I give them a gift just from me each year, and it normally has a sleep theme. That time I gave them silk PJ's. From left to right: Marla, Andrea, and Tarah (...getting married in October)

I love you girls. I'm proud to be your Father, or Chard, or whatever you may give me as a title.