Ikea Lamp Hack....hand drawn Route 66 Muffler Men

 I've been drawing those muffler men again. This time I put them on an Ikea lamp. It takes a night light bulb and is a nice little mood lamp.

These lamps are made of frosted glass, and after a little experimenting I found Sharpie markers worked the best and take a little gentle wiping to clean the lamp.  I used my rubber stamp again too. I'm so glad I made that thing!

Mixed Media Invades My Sewing!

 I  know I have kept this blog all about painting and drawing and have been pretty strict about it. But now the paints and stamp carving and drawing have started seeping over into other things. Like these aprons. Many of you know I own a souvenir shop on Route 66. I wanted to make Route 66 aprons for the shop. I made a couple, and I loved upcycling the blue jeans, but they looked so plain.......and then it hit me....paints and stamping and doodling!

 So I started stamping some with the stamp I carved not long ago. I used a waterproof ink of course. And then polka dots seemed a good idea, so I added them with acrylic paints for fabric.

 I think they are pretty spunky in that Daisy Duke kind of way, with the blue jeans and ruffles.

 I bought a few pens that are for painting on dark fabrics and they worked pretty well.

This one has the small Route 66 stamp I carved a few years ago.

 I've got a few more almost done. The shop is going to have more things I've made in it this year than it ever has before. I hope people find them appealing!

The car is outside!

Come on down and see it. It's right by the Route 66 Museum and Old City Hall Shoppes, in front of Waldmire's bus. Warning: lots of pics ahead!

You can click on the pictures to see them larger.

 I painted the little Moleskine Journal on the seat because it's the kind of journal I use for my sketches. The idea is that the whole car is treated like a travel journal...and it's pretty much the same kind of thing you see if you flip through my sketchbooks.

 It's exciting to see it outside...I saw some folks posing for pictures on it this evening. Fun!

Travel Journal

...without the journal. This one is to hang on the wall.

That little strip of color is a piece torn from the paper I lay my journals on to paint the backgrounds. I like the way the paint builds up on them, so I save them.

Stamp, stamp, stamp....

Found a clock face that says "Illinois."

When I'm sure I'm through fooling around with this, I'll give it many coats of acrylic poly in a satin finish. I like the depth it gives and how it brings out the colors. I share my work online, and I've gotten more comfortable with that, but I was a little intimidated about doing something that will not get shut in a book...but hey, you have to step out of your comfort zone to stretch, right?

New Mexico and Arizona, Route 66

Today I went from New Mexico to Arizona, stopping at the Jackrabbit Trading Post. They have a giant rabbit so of course I had to put that on my car.

The Jackrabbit Trading Post used to have huge signs teasing travelers for hundreds of miles before reaching this store. Now there are just a few left, but they are eyecatching. And I added another Burma Shave slogan  (just because I love them):
To kiss
a mug
that's like a cactus
takes more nerve
than it does practice.
Burma Shave

I put a California attraction up today too...the Wigwam Motel. They say there are two Wigwam Motels left along Route 66, one in California and one in Arizona. In all, there were seven wigwam villages across the USA, and now there are three. You certainly don't see sights like this very often these days!

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

 

Finished Texas and moving into New Mexico! Here is the famous Cadillac Ranch. It's a bit tricky painting over the bumps on the fins of this car...from some angles the caddies look pretty wopper-jawed. I figure those cars look pretty wopper-jawed anyway after all these years of people painting and beating them up! As you can see, my kids, Mike and Jill and Colleen, have been there with their spray paint ;)

The Car is Moving Along...

I've pretty much got the back end done...

So far the blue whale may be my favorite. I may add another Burma Shave slogan going up the road above his tail.

Sights to see in Arcadia, Oklahoma: Pop's and the round barn.

The crazy leaning water tower of Groom Texas and the Silver Spur Motel sign. Route 66 sure has great signs!

 Here's the giant Ku-Ku bird at the Burger joint in Miami, Oklahoma..love all the giants along the old road.

Riding along in my automobile...

Working on the car (yes, still) and humming this Chuck Berry tune:

Riding along in my automobile
My baby beside me at the wheel
I stole a kiss at the turn of a mile
my curiosity running wild
crusin' and playin' the radio
with no particular place to go...

Show me....Missouri!

Did a little more on the car today...took care of Missouri and on Wednesday I'll finish up the "show me" state and move on into Kansas.

Here's the future site of a Burma Shave advertisement.

I'm liking the quotes and lyrics stamped on and will probably be adding those all along the road.

Cozy Dog Drive In

I added a few more places in Illinois to the car tonight.

Here are the romantic little hot dogs from the Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, Illinois.

And the Maple Sirup Sign from Funk's Grove.

 And here is the Sky View Drive in sign from Litchfield.

I think we are now driving into Missouri!

Gemini Giant-Wilmington, Illinois

Tonight I added the Gemini Giant from the Launching Pad in Wilmington, Illinois. For some reason I had a lot of trouble with this dude, but I think he is finally OK.

This poor car has been last on the list of things to do with my son's wedding, the shop and various other craziness in my life. There will be some serious action on it in the next month. I'd like to be all done with it by the end of July.

Dell Rhea Chicken Basket

Added the famous Dell Rhea Chicken Basket sign to the car. Tonight, instead of tracing an old drawing from my journal, I free handed this right on the car...so much more fun! And it results in a wonkier drawing that I actually like better. I'm also diluting the acrylics down to look more like the watercolors I use in my journaling. Next up, the Gemini Giant!

Adding a little color...

to my car tonight. And some journaling. I've got a lot of hours to go on this baby. Lately I've been kind of swamped and haven't had a chance to work on it. Maybe in the next couple of days, I'll get a chance to hit it pretty hard and make a big dent in the work yet to do. I found some photos of great old signs that I want to make sketches of and work into the car. The signage along Route 66 was/is amazing.

At the Opening of the Walldogs Museum of Murals and Signpainting

Visiting with tourists to Pontiac

Today, Pontiac opened a new museum showcasing the history and art of mural and sign painting. Many of the Walldogs who painted our town's murals last year came back for the opening.

Between the new museum, the Red Carpet Corridor Festival, the carnival, unveiling the "Crusin' the Square" cars, and regular Route 66 traffic, Pontiac was a hopping place today!

Catching up with friends, Sarah and Steve

Lots of folks stopped and watched my "car in progress." Many of the other cars were unveiled today, and I have them posted on my other blog if you'd like to take a peek. So fun to see what everyone came up with!

I did make a little progress on the car today, but I'm going to have to generate many more sketches of various places along Route 66! I wanted the car to have a bold look from a distance, but plenty to look at up close....I hope it's going to work out using both the detailed and the simple things together. We'll see.

I so wanted to make the headlights into eyes, because I think kids would get a kick out of it....but if I can't make him look happy instead of ticked off, those babys are going back to straight headlights! I've tried the eyes several different ways, and so far, no luck. I think part of the problem may also be that I've got the road going down between his eyes and it looks like a furrowed brow. Maybe I'll try changing that too. Any ideas?

Here's a little start on Chicago stuff at the beginning of the route.

The Livingston County courthouse in Pontiac. As you can see, I've had it easy with the first few sketches, because I lifted them right out of my sketchbooks.