Scott Wade Turns Dusty Car Windows Into Work of Art

Most people can’t resist when they see a dirty unwashed car window and end up scrawling funny figures or clever messages like “wash me”. But one artist in San Marcos, Texas is elevating these dust-covered canvases to the level of high art.

Scott Wade uses filthy car windows as canvases to create incredible but temporary masterpieces. He could spend up to four hours perfecting his dirt drawings but one heavy downpour is enough to destroy his hard work.

Mr Wade first rubs oil onto the window and sprays it with Fuller's earth, the type used on film sets, and uses a hair dryer to blow the dirt on. The process takes ten minutes, much quicker than the seven days Mr Wade said it would take to build up a 'natural' canvas by driving a car up and down a dirt track.

“I lived on a long, dirt road for over 20 years. Our cars were always dirty and I would often doodle in the dust on the rear windows of our cars”, he said. 'Mostly I would draw funny faces, then 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. Once I tried using the chewed-up end of a popsicle stick as a brush - I liked the effect, so I started trying paintbrushes, and eventually developed the techniques I use today.'