While exhibiting at a number of art festivals on the Court house lawn in Crown Point, Indiana, I found that one of the local landmarks, was the old jail across the street. I eventually created a painting of the jail, one of four from Crown Point.
John Dillinger, during a bank robbery in Chicago shot and killed a police officer and was captured in Tucson, Arizona and taken to the Lake County Jail, in Crown Point, Indiana. Early morning, on March 3, 1934, Dillinger had carved a gun either from a bar of soap, or a wooden washboard, (Local legend varies), covering it with black shoe polish. Using it in his escape, an automatic gun was taken from a jail guard, as he made his escape.
On July 23, 1934, Dillinger was shot and killed by the FBI outside the Biograph Theater, in Chicago.
Among many of the art shows and festival I attended since 1978, one of many local shows took place on the lawn of the Lake County Courthouse in Crown Point, Indiana. Since I attended the show for several years, I painted several local places. Of course, the first painting had to be the Courthouse.
The Courthouse was unique, with 3 towers, the middle being the clock tower. Built in 1878, it was referred to as “The Grand Old Lady”. It was a combination of Romanesque and Georgian architectural styles.
Now, retired from County Government, the building now houses the Historical Museum along with shops that attract tourists, shoppers and other visitors.
During my travels, looking for good nostalgic material, I would make an effort to drive down some of the back roads. As I was driving down Mars Hill Road, near Acworth, where I was going to exhibit in an Arts & Crafts festival in the near future, I came across this old barn. It was directly across the gravel road from a beautiful home that had been there for years, but kept up well in appearance.
When I see things like the barn, I let my imagination wander, so here’s where it lead me: The husband or father smoked, but was not allowed to smoke in the house, so he had to go outside. Across the street he would go and would soon be surrounded with all his friends, as they laugh and tell stories and all their tall tales that keep the conversations lively.
After finishing the painting, I was exhibiting at the Acworth Beach Festival and the owners of the home and barn showed up and revealed the truth. The man was a prominent person and a member of the local fire department. The barn was used mostly for storage, but I liked my story better.
The painting was Evelyn’s favorite painting, but was eventually sold. Oops!
The familiar style Silver Diner, at 7501 Gulf Blvd, in St. Pete Beach, Florida opened in 1951 and became an icon of American History for decades. In the 1990’s, I participated in several street festivals, located within a block of the diner. Everyone that ate at the diner seemed to know each other, because of the morning rituals of breakfast or lunch. I took many pictures of the diner after the show closed and returned the next year with the painting and prints, which were a popular item for the locals.
The Pelican Diner closed in 2001. I had heard that the owners ran the diner for all those years and were unable to continue. The Diner was sold in 2003, with the intentions of moving it to another location and reopening. The last information I have, is the diner is sitting in storage somewhere, but that corner on Gulf Blvd, no longer has the familiar aroma in the morning of bacon and sausage.
It was just a grain silo. We called it the “Milk Silo” because of the advertisement painted on the side.
Just south of Mishawaka, Indiana on Hwy 131, north of Bremen, there are 2 small towns. Wyatt, is about one block long with no traffic lights, but they do have a Post office. Just north of that, is the town of Woodland, with a store that has been empty for years. The only way you know it’s a town, is because of small sign that says “Wooland”.
Woodland is significant to me, because of the cement grain silo that sat in the yard of an old farm house
When first starting out exhibiting in Art Festivals, I stayed close to home, which at the time was South Bend, Indiana, next door to Mishawaka. After I took pictures of the silo, it was just a few months, when they removed it. Since I had already taken pictures of it, I decided to put it on canvas.
It didn’t take long before the painting sold, and many prints after that. Even members of the family, who owned the property, bought prints of the milk silo. Another instant nostalgic memory that I was able to capture just in time!
There was a time in my Art Festival Travels when I exhibited in many of the top shows in the country. During that time, the #1 show was Coconut Grove Arts Festival, in Florida. During that show, I sold a painting of the Fire Truck in a field, in Ripley, WV to the Fire Chief of the Miami Fire Dept. Later he contacted me to paint a painting for him of the Miami Fire Dept. as it used to look. He had a black and white photo of the station, taken years prior to then.
I painted several commission paintings in my career. This was just one of them. Another painting I sold at that show in 2003, was of the Key Biscayne Light house, which was purchased by a well-known member of the Versace family, a known name in the area and the Fashion Industry.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
11″ x 14″Black Edge………. $148.82
11″ x 14″ White Edge………. $148.82
11″ x 14″ Wrapped Edge………. $148.82
16″ x 20″ Black Edge ………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ White Edge………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ Wrapped Edge………. $204.72
16″ x 20″ ………. $375.00 original painting on stretched canvas not available.
Since I lived in South Bend, Indiana, I exhibited in shows in the area and wanted to capture some of the history of South Bend. The South Shore Line was popular in earlier years, which ran from South Bend to Chicago. The South Bend station was located downtown across from the LaSalle Hotel. The South Shore still runs from South Bend to Chicago and stops between, but the station was moved to the airport on the west side of South Bend. I wanted to focus the painting on the end of the line, where the passengers exit the train at the South Shore Station. To capture the reflections of the lights, I painted the scene as if it was a light rain, creating the wet pavement I even put a Studebaker in the background, since Studebaker was the main industry in South Bend at the time. I hope you enjoyed your trip back in time.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
8″ x 12″ Black Edge………. $109.17
8″ x 12″ White Edge………. $109.17
8″ x 12″ Wrapped Edge………. $109.17
12” x 18” Black Edge ………. $168.07
12” x 18” White Edge ………. $168.07
12” x 18” Wrapped Edge ………. $168.07
16” x 24” Black Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
16” x 24” White Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
16” x 24” Wrapped Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
20” x 30” Black Edge………. $314.34
20” x 30” White Edge………. $314.34
20” x 30” Wrapped Edge………. $314.34
24” x 36”Black Edge ………. $335.65
24” x 36”White Edge ………. $335.65
24” x 36”Wrapped Edge ………. $335.65
24” x 36” ………. Original Painting on stretched canvas not available.
Jimmy Ellenburg, was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2000 as an outstanding quarterback and halfback at Miami High School. In the three years that he played, he had two State Championships and graduated in 1935. Years later, Jimmy opened up the restaurant in Miami, Florida. He and his wife operated the restaurant from 1950 to 1966. Since I painted nostalgic places, I was told about a restaurant that was famous in the area, so I started doing some research. The restaurant no longer exists and Jimmy has since passed away, but the memory of his accomplishments and his famous restaurant remains.
Prints:
ALL PRINTS are printed on canvas and stretched on wooden stretcher bars and prices vary according to size ordered. Most are 2:3 proportion
Options:
wrapped print- part of the image is wrapped
around the sides of the wood.
Non-wrapped print- The full image is on the face, with white or black edges
(frames and hardware are not included)
8″ x 12″ Black Edge………. $109.17
8″ x 12″ White Edge………. $109.17
8″ x 12″ Wrapped Edge………. $109.17
12” x 18” Black Edge ………. $168.07
12” x 18” White Edge ………. $168.07
12” x 18” Wrapped Edge ………. $168.07
16” x 24” Black Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
16” x 24” White Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
16” x 24” Wrapped Edge ………. $226.14 (Most popular)
20” x 30” Black Edge………. $314.34
20” x 30” White Edge………. $314.34
20” x 30” Wrapped Edge………. $314.34
24” x 36”Black Edge ………. $335.65
24” x 36”White Edge ………. $335.65
24” x 36”Wrapped Edge ………. $335.65
24” x 36” ………. Original Painting on stretched canvas not available.
During the mid1980s, while driving in the north Georgia mountains, looking for subject matter for future paintings, I found a roadside stand specializing in Apples, which the area was famous for in north Georgia. I painted the painting a short time later, in 1986.
It was on Highway 52, near Ellijay, Georgia, called Oak Hill Orchards. the painting was a 9 x 12 acrylic painting canvas.
It was in 1994, Bill Clinton was our Nation’s President. We were in Arkansas, so we took a side trip to the town of Hope, Arkansas, which was the birthplace of the 42nd President. There was a festival that was very popular to the area, where we could sell my paintings and prints. It was the “Hope Watermelon Festival”.
As we drove around the town, I took pictures of his boyhood home, the school he attended and of course, the train depot. Train Depots are always popular prints. I decided to paint the depot and have it available for the festival several months later. As I remember, it took place on July 4th. Even Good Morning America was televised from there.
The temperature was 105 degrees and they had semi loads of nice cold watermelon, cut longways into quarters and sold for 25 cents. I think it was the best watermelon I have ever tasted. I must have had a couple of dollars-worth.
