𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 (2024)
Digital painting
From the series 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩

The end of my drive was approaching, and I was more than ready for some rest when I spotted this oasis off I-80. Funny enough, that's what they're really called - " Travel Oasis' ". And tonight, with it's rare occurrence of open spaces, it truly felt like one. As I pulled in, the glow of taillights and security lamps painted the night in shades of red and gold.

What a relief to finally set the ELD to "break" and know I could rest. How many other drivers here were feeling that same sense of satisfaction at the end of a long day?

As I prepared to settle in for the night, I wondered: How many dreams of home would float through the cabs around me? Or maybe, for some drivers; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. What distant places called to the drivers resting here, and how many felt they'd already arrived?

In these quiet moments, I think about the strange community we've formed - strangers united by the rhythm of the road and the promise of dawn.

How many stories were tucked away in these rigs? What unseen cargo, both physical and emotional, did we all carry?

As I looked out at the scene - the trucks, the lights, the vast darkness beyond - I was struck by how it reminded me of Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks". Sure, instead of a diner we had trucks, and our coffee came from thermoses rather than a counter, but that sense of isolation amidst connection, of being awake while the world slept, felt the same. It captured something essential about life on the road.

Before turning in, I grabbed my phone for one last shot. Sometimes the best images come when you're not overthinking them, just capturing a moment between one long haul and the next. Later, when I had time to revisit this scene, I found myself drawn to the interplay of light and shadow, the sense of solitude and community.

I worked to capture not just what I saw, but what I felt in that moment - the weariness, the peace, the strange beauty of a truck stop at night. Each penstroke was an attempt to translate that fleeting instant into something more lasting, a testament to life on the road.

As for me, this quiet parking lot, this truck stop , with these other "Overnighters", reminded me why I do this - the open road, the sense of purpose, and these moments of stillness amidst the journey.