This portrait in oil is unfinished. It is painted on masonite. It was first begun in 1983 and is rendered in the tradition of the old masters. I used their method of transferring an image onto canvas and have underpainted the values on it. I never did complete the painting as the subject passed away and since he was a good friend, I lost heart for the project. The mark on his forehead was where I rested my pinky finger, to steady my hand, when I was painting. I didn't realize it had paint on it.

Richard L. Shelton was the proprietor of Pondview Auto Body in our town and was secretly a stockcar racing driver in a farmer's body. He spent his days repairing cars, his early evenings tending to farm chores, and his evenings with his buddies fabricating stock cars to run in races in and around the state. He built go-karts as well and on Sundays you could find him at the local track. Sometimes he would just stand in front of the garage leaning on the building, looking out into the distance. It seemed as though he was planning the next racecar he would help construct.

My original photograph entitled, R.L.S. from which this was painted can be found in the first detail image.