“Old Blue”

Another painting inspired by my travels in Door County, WI. The word “iconic” usually is reserved for universally recognized objects. But if you have been to Door County, and have driven the best drive in the Mid-West (up HWY 42 and back down HWY 57), this little old Chevy by the side of the road has reached iconic status to everyone who has.

Sitting alongside another iconic site on HWY 42, Gus Klenke Garage in Ellison Bay, WI (and another subject of one of my paintings, “Gus’s Chair”), this rusted old Chevy truck has now become the greatest flower pot ever. The bed of the truck is decorated every year, and changed throughout the year based on the holidays or seasons; summer, fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter, Valentine’s Day, Easter and spring. And who does this? Another great story, which you can read more about in this great article from the Door County Pulse entitled The Changing Displays of an Ellison Bay Landmark. For the TLDR crowd, I will quote from the linked article.

“The Ellison Bay Historical Society was founded in 1999, and one of its early projects was the renovation of Gust’s garage with a new roof, siding and paint. In 2000, Gary and Marcy Farber retired in Ellison Bay. When Marcy’s stepfather passed away, Gary inherited his pickup. He drove it until it wouldn’t run anymore, then donated it to the historical society. Appropriately, it came to rest beside the garage, where in Gust’s day, “there was a graveyard of old automobiles and trucks, even a yellow school bus, swaying in the weeds.” One summer about 20 years ago, Marcy “innocently” planted some geraniums in the truck bed. She didn’t know what she’d started.” By Door County Pulse, Peninsula Pulse – May 27th, 2015

I have been traveling up to Door County with my family for decades, often multiple times a year. With camera at the ready we are always taking pictures. These photos collected throughout the years now serve largely as my subjects of my paintings. This particular photo we took of this lovely “flower pot” was one of the first I took with the intent to make it a subject of a painting. It’s funny how when you take a photo with that intent, how it changes your view through the lens. What you see in the view finder is no longer just a photo, but the becomes the canvas. “Is the light right? This angle capture what I want to paint? Should I off-set it a bit?” blah blah blah…I took a few more photos on this trip of different subjects with the same approach, but it actually kind of took the fun out of just taking a photo. So, I have vowed to not do that again, I just take photos now. If I end up liking it enough to paint, maybe I’ll paint it…maybe not.

What a unique and beautiful subject this is though! The repurposing of an old truck that would normally just rust away to fade out of existence, now will age before our eyes while adorned in a changing wardrobe, cared for and admired by many…hopefully for years and years to come.