1940s Farmall tractor, 11 9/16 x 8 1/4, 9B graphite and watercolor pencils.
I'm obsessed with this old piece of farm equipment. Aside from the powerful memories of growing up around tractors just like this one, it is a beautiful exercise in efficiency. An engine and power transmission on a cast iron frame, with a pair of enormous drive wheels and a much smaller set of front tires functioning as a unit, to steer the tractor. There are sheet metal cowlings only where they are absolutely necessary, and every part is shaved down to its barest essence. Yet it is nonetheless a graceful form, however unselfconsciously its beauty emerged mostly from function. The slots in the radiator grille, the teardrop shape of the gas tank merging with the engine cowling, the springing curve of the steering wheel spokes and those gorgeous wheels and hubs.
I loved drawing it a second time, and I'm glad that I didn't fuss over the details. It would have lost the spartan purity and simplicity that the machine is all about.