6x24 inches
acrylic, watercolor paper, kraft paper on stained maple panel
$495

The Jobs of Yesteryear series combines history and surrealism to tell the stories of obsolete jobs. A contemporary glimpse into the past, these mixed media paintings serve as a reminder of a time and stories long forgotten.

This particular Job of Yesteryear mixed media painting features a roustabout. The oil fields of Azerbaijan have been used in trade dating back to the 3rd century, when Marco Polo reported “a spring from which gushes a stream of oil”. Since then, this region has become a main driver of the oil industry with their development mainly coming from the lobar of the roustabouts, oil rig workers that were tasked with its development mainly coming from the labor of the roustabouts, oil rig workers that were tasked with hand-digging the wells. In the early 1900s, half of the world’s oil came from 6 square miles there. The drilling technology has greatly improved since those early days, as well as the rigs above the walls, but the roughnecks that work them continue to be the main source of labor.

The Roustabout was created with acrylic paint, and the long-limbed character was cut from paper and collaged with kraft paper. The Jobs of Yesteryear are thought-provoking conversation pieces that will bring an air of history and whimsy to any room.