Vintage Trailer/Camper Show!

When using a public campground

a tuba placed on your picnic table 

will keep the campsites on either side vacant.

~Author Unknown

On June 28 (good gravy I'm behind on posting!) I met up with my dad and my friends Todd and Denise. We went to the Murphey Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California to drool over some very groovy old examples of "glamping." 

I don't camp much anymore but I might if I had an Airstream, Teardrop, or Lo Liner!

Check out some of the vintage Grooviness!

This old camper was from 1936! It had a boat theme and so much wonderful woodwork!

Below, a 1954 Ranger pop up trailer! There were 200 Ranger trailers made, in part because of the 1,500 price tag (a lot of money for a camper in '54). It was the first pop up camper and is 6 foot 3 inches in height- Inside! There is a hand crank that raises the roof with a whole system of pulleys. 

Two double beds, sink, ice box, and a formica work surface. Pretty cool set-up!

1962 Airstream Reflections ...

More fun ways to camp!

Campers:

Nature's way of feeding mosquitoes.

~Author Unknown

1959 Chevy Alaskan

Love this old Shasta!

Another fabulous Airstream ... maybe it's that I am attracted to shiny objects, but aren't they just the coolest?

Airstream Land Yacht by Air Stream 

Spartan Custom Mansion

I'd never seen one of these before. It was HUGE. I can't imagine trying to get it into a campground but it does have all the amenities! There was nice table, bench chairs, shower, bathroom sink and bedroom area!

This was funky and a lot of fun but I don't have any idea what it was.

How is it that one match can start a forest fire,

but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire?

~Christy Whitehead

This groovy one, below, put the beach boys in my head. 

So cool!

And check out the amazing woodwork and vintage stove!!!

1958 Traveleze

Apparently, the gal who bought this gutted it. I think they said it was a chicken coop and she paid 500 bucks for it! Can you imagine the cleaning process? Anyway, it was cute as a button.

Another nice Shasta!

1963 Shasta 1500

This was adorable and she has a blog! MyVintageCamper.blogspot.com !!!

If you're not in New York,

you're camping out.

~Thomas E. Dewey

Greaser's Alley 

This is similar to the Lo Liner we had when I was in Junior High and High school. We bought from my grandparents and I remember taking it up through Central California and the Wine Country in it one summer! 

We didn't have ours done Tiki style but my Mom decorated it and made cute little red, white and blue gingham curtains and pillows. Fun memories. Wish we still had one!

This next trailer was done like an old bordello! Groovy old french music was playing and the owner had on a red satin and black bustier! 

Black and white vintage nudie photos, velvet wallpaper ... 

And of course, chandeliers! 

Love a Teardrop! So cute. I might even be able to pull one behind my Mini Cooper!

Here's a shot from about 1982 of our Old Goat (1966 GTO) and the Lo Liner. :)

Here's the site for the Murphy Auto Museum!

It always rains on tents.

Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds

for the opportunity to rain on a tent.

~Dave Barry

We used to tent camp before the trailer came around and always there were campfire songs, especially when we went up to Bass Lake with my mom's family.

If you aren't familiar with good ol' Smokey the Bear, and that he started out his journey during WWII, here's a little history. ;)

Blessings and light little Campers!

Pastel Society Show in Thousand Oaks!

Hi all! My current show is up! It's actually a group show. For those of you who don't know, I am a member of the Pastel Society of the Gold Coast. It's an amazing group of artists that I am very honored to be involved with and included in!

This is my 3rd year in the group, and 3rd year participating in the Thousand Oaks show, which is usually our biggest of the year. This year it benefits the Camarillo Hospice. (See info above.)

One of the pieces I put in the show, is Autumn Reflections. It started with a watercolor underpainting ...

Then little by little, I began to add in my pastels over the top ...

The painting is inspired by this photo (below) from the Yosemite Valley back in 1999, that I took while visiting my grandmother, who lived nearby in Mariposa. 

I changed the season a bit. I nixed the bits of ice/snow around the rocks. I figured it would have to get very "nit-picky" in order for you to really read that it was snow, so I edited as well as cropped the picture. I also changed the light and color of the sky so it would not get too "cartoony" hued.

More detail ... rocks and reflections ...

And then, more rocks in the water, and punching up the lights and darks. 

 And violà!!

It was one of the 3 pieces voted on to be submitted for publicity and it ended up in the little Thousand Oaks paper. :)

This weekend is the reception and it runs until the 27th of July!

By the way, I am the blog administrator for the Pastel Society of the Gold Coast. We post about shows, members' plein air outings, demos and so on. If you want to check it out, click here!

Hope you had a fabulous 4th of July, 

for all you Americans out there! 

And for everyone, I hope

that you are having a perfectly lovely July!

Art enables us to find ourselves

and lose ourselves at the same time.

~Thomas Merton

Blessings and light!

I Love A Parade ~ July 4th and Parades Gone By

Happy 4th of July!!!

Well, I'm not quite making it up to Ojai, in time for the parade this year.  I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that there will be some of the usual suspects involved in the festivities. Of course, that's one of the things I love about a hometown parade!

These photos, were from last years parade, in Ojai California.

Love the all the kids, in the parade!

And the cool cars ...

And the cuteness ...

I suspect my attachment to, and love of, 4th of July parades goes back to my childhood and being in the "Pushem-Pullem Parade" with my sister Penny, and our old pals and neighbors, Stephen and Matthew almost every July 4th!

For all but the last, I am completely guessing on the years! Oh, and the parade was (and still is) on Main Street in Ventura, California, just in case you were wondering. 

 1980

1979

The Wizard of Oz Year

Poor Matthew doesn't look so happy to be the lion.

 

1977

The year we did Cinderella. 

My sister, far left as the fairy Godmother, then yours truly as Cinderella, Stephen as the Prince and Matthew as the King, hidden behind Steve. I'm guessing that I was the one deciding what we were dressing up as, since it looks like I was the "lead" ... again. Thanks guys, for going along with it! ;)

   

(It must have been a fairy tale theme, that year!)

Stephen and I, below.

Steve's little sister Amanda is in the stroller (guessing this is after the parade ended) and that's my sister Penny, on the right, as the fairy Godmother.

I found out on Facebook today, that I am not the only one who saved this button! 

And the U.S. Bicentennial ~ 1976

As Betsy Ross (taking my job very seriously.)

Happy 4th!

Blessings and light!