25+ Dirty Car Art Works By Artist Scott Wade That Shows That Dirt, Dust & Grime Can Be Beautiful

Scott Wade is a 'dirty car artist', When Texas-born Wade sees a grimy car windscreen he sees a canvas for some of his dirty car art, somewhere for him to create a portrait, recreate an old masters painting, or sketch a landscape scene. At some point in your life you've probably written something (the classic "clean me!") or made a crude drawing on a dusty car window you've walked past. But if it's your own vehicle you'd get it washed.

For Scott Wade that would be a total waste, instead the dirty car artist would likely pick up one of his brushes and create something stunning with the dirt. It all started for Wade back in Texas where he's from.

"I lived on a long, dirt road in Central Texas for over 20 years." notes the artist. "Since our cars were always dirty, I would often 'doodle' in the dust on the rear windows of our cars. My father was a great amateur cartoonist and I must have picked that up from him, because my natural tendency was always to draw funny faces. I started experimenting with ways to get shading. At first I would use the pads of my fingers and brush very lightly to get 'grey' tones. One time I was chewing on a popsicle stick, and I tried using the chewed up end as a brush. I liked the effect, so I started trying paintbrushes, and eventually developed the techniques I use today. Nowadays, I use a rubber 'paint-shaper' tool and assorted brushes (and of course my fingers)."

How Does Scott Wade Source His Dirty Car Art

Scott Wade gets very dirty pursuing his dirty car art, but gives it two thumbs up.

If you're wondering how Wade manages to find so many dusty cars for his dirty car art, then the answer is they aren't all naturally that way. Sometimes the artist says he works on cars that he comes across whose windows are covered in dust. Other times it's just not practical.

And because he does a lot of PR events and gets hired by ad agencies, often he has to create artificial dirt. To do this he says he uses oil, a blow dryer, and a bag of very fine dirt. He puts a thing layer of oil on the windows, then blows on the dirt with the blow dryer. He than does his thing.

The results speak for themselves. And depending on the complexity of the image, they can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours.

Check out a selection below. And you can check out many more of Scott Wade's dirty car art at his website.