while he works towards the day when he can paint full-time,US artist Tim Raines pays the bills by doing some technical consultancy: this native of Austin, Texas, has a background in physics, and it’s a subject that manifests itself in his artwork too.Tim spatters or drops acrylic paint onto a pre-sketched or paintedoutline, and says he’s fascinated by the ways in which the paintflows or whirls as it hits the surface.‘It gives a very three-dimensional effect,’ he explains, ‘as the paint can be up to an eighth of an inch thick. I get through a lot of paint – and it takes 48 hours for it to harden enough for me tomove the artwork. I’ll manipulate the paint with tools while it’s still wet, and then finish it off with brushes.’Tim says he has been ‘drawing cars since I coulddraw’ and has always had an interest in classics; his first car was an MGB, bought when he was 16, and wasfollowed by a Datsun 280Z in college. Recently he’sbeen focusing on abstract interpretations of brand logos and symbols, not least because of commissionsby Aston Martin North America for the Amelia Island Concours, and for Michelin at the Detroit Auto Show.But his latest work is of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing – which doubtless will soon appear on his website, www.timothyraines.com.