- The Burnin’ Oil Collection -
A Brief History

Burnin' Oil is a collection of photography by my father, the late Thomas C. Backes, famous Philadelphia artist.

A sign painter by trade, Thomas C. Backes started his career in the late forties as a cartoonist and illustrator for the Armed Forces Press Service in the U.S. Navy. His artistic passions included watercolors, sculpture, woodworking, design, calligraphy and photography.

Through the eighties and into the the late nineties, he became fascinated with the effects the elements of nature had on machines, namely automobiles. He sought out and found abandoned cars whose final resting place was the woods or an old field or swamp. Mother Nature, it seemed, didn't mind her rusting metal neighbors, and continued on as if they weren't there at all. My dad saw beauty in this transformation, as the man-made objects became one with the earth.

At the same time, his imagination was captivated by fond memories of his youth, a time when hanging out at the local corner store and buying soda and candy was the order of the day. These old gas stations and general stores evoked a more peaceful and simpler time, which gave him solace in the complex world.

He shot all his photos on a 35mm instamatic camera using 200-speed film, never brand specific. If you referred to him as a photographer he would laugh and say "I am not a photographer ... I am an arteest, and I never feenesh notheeng"......in some dialect of which only he knew.

Burnin' Oil is a combination of these works and this is but a sampling of the entire collection. It gave my father great joy to chat with folks who showed emotion from his work and I hope these works bring joy to you as well, as I continue his legacy. Randy W. Backes