Corona Residency at KIRA

 Today marks my second day of my Corona Residency at KIRA St. Andrews (KIRA= Kingsbrae International Residencies for the Arts).
Usually international artists are juried to stay at the KIRA main house and create in their own little private studio. Due to Covid19 and the restrictions to travel and life, KIRA management has invited
local artists of various disciplines to make their home in one of the five studios.
I got invited and feel so honoured to paint alongside some amazing local heavyweight professional artists such as Geoff Slater, Alanna Baird (Tin Fish), Ann Manuel and Stephanie Robb.

Well, as per usual, I am flying at the seat of my pants (is this a right expression???). Monday morning I rushed home started packing my stuff from my 'home closet studio' only AFTER the official welcome at KIRA.

But, Mathias' school year is finished as of last Friday (happy mom, happy kid), so I am NOW calling myself a full time artist/creator for the next month! YEY!
The kids will happily fend for themselves for the month- eating KD for lunch and likely cookies for breakfast and watching TV all day long (Markus hopefully chases them outside to play in the yard, maybe he has them help him work around the house a bit). They loved the news about mom going to KIRA for a month, coming home to prepare dinner and do the dishes, haha!
Man, my little ones are growing up so fast! I am proud of them and hope Markus and 'da gang' will have a bit of fun while I'm painting.
The good thing about taking time away as a mom is that every time I spend a bit of time away, my 'stocks' are going up, aka: I am appreciated more than when I left. This could be a test 'how life would be if mom would work full time'. We shall see, I'll keep you posted on the feedback;-)

My art studio wall day #2 at KIRA

Anyhow, back to my paintings... as said, today is day #2 for me and you can see my efforts pinned to the wall. I decided to portrait one flower each day and slowly fill my wall with little vignettes of what comes and goes into bloom during my time here.

First day painting was of the last few orange/red poppies I could find,

Painting the last poppies at Kingsbrae Gardens.

Red Poppy, Plein Air, oil, 6x6in on hardboard, available

today was a buttercup-type flower (which I didn't write down its name). The gardener told me they are on their way out and I better paint those soon.

Yellow Buttercup, 6x6 oil on hardboard, available

The afternoon I spend by the lower pond below the wind mill. The pond has a natural look with wildflowers growing around it and in between mature woodland trees. It has a bit of the feel of Monet's pond.
There are beautiful lupins blooming right now, so I decided to park my easel by the pond under a mature oak tree (and on top of a large red ants nest). I didn't finish the painting as the sun moved and the colours of the landscape changed (and the ants drove me crazy). So, will go back tomorrow. Here's a pic of my hangout by the pond:

Two Apples, More Vitamins

Two Apples, More Vitamins

oil pastels, 5x7in approx. matted to 8x10in

more info and purchase, click here

Day two this year and I've painted a second apple, wohoo! The little pleasures. So I call this sketch Two Apples, More Vitamins. I like this medium, always come back to it as a ways to see things new. It is straightforward to judge the colour stick to the actual colour of the object. I then can either put it down or substitute by finding a different colour the same value. This creates little colourful flicks here and there that make the painting more interesting, more colourful. Well, a colour junkie talking here, haha.

Hope to find time again tomorrow for another little sketch. On Thursday another snow storm is expected, so I might be stuck inside still with the kids bouncing off the walls. At least the temperatures are expected to be higher and freezing water pipes are less likely.

What's Your Favorite Camper? Voting Has Started!

September is over, all paintings are painted, now it's time to vote! I ask you for help to select YOUR most favorite 12 campers I have painted this past month. These 12 will be featured in my 2018 Vintage Camper Calendar.

3 lucky winners will receive a calendar, just leave your email at the voting page. I need your email to contact you if you win;-)

I will keep this short, but hope you'll hop on over to my voting page and choose your favorite glampies!

thank you and stay in touch!!

Simone

1965 Aristocrat Lo-Liner

1965 Aristocrat Lo-Linerorig. watercolor 8x10in (matted to fit 11x14in frame)
purchase info here

Today's camper is this red 1965 Aristocrat Lo-Liner. It's proud owner writes the following:

'This is "The Hen House" - my very first vintage trailer. I named her
after finding some cute curtain fabric & a vintage red leather
suitcase! My very first vintage trailer!'

Isn't it the best how many people start a renovation (camper or other) with a some inspiration piece? Here it was a cute curtain fabric and a vintage leather suitcase. My own kitchen reno and so many others behind me I know exactly how she feels. It takes just one inspiration piece to get a vision. I guess that the red leather suitcase was the model for the red color outside.

Side note about submitting photos:

Today I had to work some imaginary angles as the photo was cropped. I usually don't choose cropped photos as it just adds that extra level of stress to guess it right, but I am a sucker for red, so I let it slip. It was stressful, haha! The owner offered different photos but it was too late to contact her as my month is coming to an end very soon.

I believe more people have tried to send  photos in, but my 'super basic uploader' doesn't have a landing page stating if things went through. Many people were wondering (however the uploader shows if things don't go through). Most problems I saw was too large files. My computer screen is not showing the whole photo if files arrive at full size, often 5mb!

I had this a couple years ago and it drove me crazy to re-size almost every other photo. So I decided that photos have to be sent the right size for me to work from. Many people read and understood and I'm very thankful for the time I could spend painting rather than editing pics;-) Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Tomorrow, more camper before we call it done for this time and I want to thank each and every one again for sending in your pics! I had fun and hope you did have, too!

1968 Forester 'Violet'

1968 Forester 'Violet'orig. watercolor 8x10in (matted to fit 11x14in frame)
purchase info here

Today's feature camper is this 1968 Forester 'Violet'. It required a lot of sensitive mixing and keeping the wells clean to get all those purples and violets, but I enjoyed it. See, every day a new challenge for me here, haha. 

Also, today I was sooo sure to be done before dinner time with the painting as I have specifically nothing planned for the whole day. Oh well, it is again 10:30pm as I write this... And I still have to bake an apple cake as I have a friend come over for coffee in the morning. And drain the chicken stock bubbling on the stove.

So, you see, my time management skills are definitely not 100% and could use some adjusting.

My Mommy Day Today:

This afternoon was a most beautiful day outside. The morning started foggy and drab, but by noon it cleared up and the sun was glorious mid afternoon. Once they arrived from school, I grabbed the kids, the bikes and scooters and we headed down to Indian Point Beach for fresh air and beach combing. Besides, I wanted to check out if that aqua Shasta Re-Issue was still at the campground. Prepared, I had brought my paints. Unfortunately, the camper had left already.

At the Beach though, a large rock formation is my kids' imaginary pirate ship and they always have fun hopping and climbing busily up and down. Today the fighting was kept to a minimum- bonus!

As I was taking photos of them, I realized again how fast they are growing up. I cherish my time with them and try to spend meaningful time with them, often outdoors. I enjoy our small adventures, even if it's just a bike ride down to the beach and collecting shells. Winter will be here in no time and then I enjoy the sweet memories of summer days gone by.

Orange White 1968 Shasta 1500

Orange White 1968 Shasta 1500orig. watercolor 8x10in (matted to fit 11x14in frame)
purchase info here

Today's Orange White 1968 Shasta 1500 felt like painting a deja-vu. I have the small version of it, haha, so I'm quite familiar with its angles and curves (now doesn't this sound sexy!).

This one here is in a low-light situation, it seems overcast or dusk with little reflective light bouncing around. Makes a challenge to paint a happy sunny scene, so I opted to just forgo that endeavor but embrace what it is. It's owner is a very pretty, happy young woman. She was in the submission photo, too. But out of fear of biting too big a piece off the apple in regards to getting the portrait right, I simplified and not add her in the scene. I can tell you, it was a challenge just by itself!

You gals keep me on my toes all right! My hope is it will make me a better painter.

There are only a few more days left and I'm looking forward to seeing the full 30 paintings all lined up. My favorite part is always the collage poster with every one camper featured. 5 more days to go, oh, wait- 4 more days;-)

Thanks again for stopping by and let's see what's in tomorrow's camper-candy-bag!?

1953 Fleetwood

1953 Fleetwood

orig. watercolor, 8x10in (matted to fit 11x14in frame)

purchase info here

Welcome Stevie, a 1953 Fleetwood Camper! You are our feature glamper today! Sent in by Penny's owner from a couple of days ago. What a beautiful restored campie I'd have to say!

And today not even my Wiki friends from TinCan Tourists can help out with information.

So, I'd keep it short and just want to say a great big 'thank you' to all of you journeying with me.

I see it an honor to paint every day those beautiful old campers that people of all walks lovingly restore and enjoy the great outdoors in. Our hearts are often longing for adventure, for freedom and to explore our beautiful planet. And these campers speak exactly this, in the simple ways of life from yesteryear. It certainly is on my bucket-list to travel our continent and learn about its people.

I hope to see you again tomorrow with another little vintage;-) And if you'd still send your photo in, please do so, I might have a couple of spots open end of the week. God bless you and keep you in this new week!

Thank you Leslie Saeta for hosting the 30 paintings in 30 days project for artists again!

1969 Catalina from New Zealand- a Lesson in Perspective

1969 Catalina from New Zealand!
watercolor study 8x10in,  (not for sale)

Today's camper is one of the hardest campers I have ever painted. It's shape, color and a canvas tent that is longer than the trailer caused a huge challenge.

I call today's painting a fail, but a learning experience.

Still I am posting my laboured efforts, just to show you that not every painting works out. And I have to be honest, posting this is a bit humbling, too. And I hope this painting will be a good teaching-lesson for me. I want to get better at what I do, this is why I started painting to paint 30 paintings in 30 days a few years back under the umbrella of artist Leslie Saeta's call to join her.

Let's analyze...!

So what happened  today you might ask? I was trying so hard to capture the immaculate high gloss finish. The muted colors were almost white soft pastel tones. I was trying hard to capture the rounded front windows, the tent-addition and simplify the layout somewhat. There were extra canvas stipes on the awning poles, too that I wasn't sure would read right in the painting. I edited those out.

First, the area rug seemed to fall out from the painting. I didn't see this as I don't have good perspective from the get-go. Then I asked my dear husband and he told me. As I tried to see it and adjust the rug's shape, I saw the pole on the left ended up too long, and as a result the corner of the awning looked to be by that pole.

So I painted the white pole over to fit with the dark open door (you can still see where I patched that pole, haha). At this point, I knew there was no going back, nor going forward. So, here I am posting this camper in hopes to being able to try a second round... but I might take a couple of days with other campers to calm my nerves, haha.

Anyhow, thank you so much for following along and hope to see you tomorrow again!

Sorry my sentences might read jumbled. I'm just too tired and weary now. Time for bed, zzzz.

1963 Arrow Duplex Cabover

1963 Arrow Duplex Caboverorig. watercolor, 8x10in (matted to fit 11.14in frame)more info and purchase, click here

Welcome to today's 1963 Arrow Duplex Cabover. The step-up tiny camping home for the person who needs a bit more space (or has more kids, haha).

This one here is a 1963, almost 55 years old! I'd love to look this good when I'm 55, just sayin'!

Here is what its proud owner shared with me: "This is my camper Flo. We have a lot of fun because I just 'go with the Flo.'" Some comments make my day, and this was one of those! Thank you very much for sending in your darling Flo for us all to smile with you!

I am posting this, yawning. So tired today. This weekend I was out and about painting at Kings Landing Historic Settlement at their annual plein air fundraiser. The other artists attending are fun to be around with and really, as creating art is kind of a solitary endeavor, it feels special to paint alongside likeminded. We stayed at the bunkhouse where they host the summer camp kids. You can guess how well I slept, haha! 

I will share some of the paintings created with you once the month and my camper project is over. If you are interested in looking at the exhibit and enjoy a wonderful fall excursion, you can head to Kings Landing until October 9th, 2017 before they close for the season.

Green 1954 Aljoa Sportsman

Green 1954 Aljoa Sportsman

orig. watercolor, 8x10in (matted to fit 11x14in frame)
purchase info here

What a pleasure it was to paint today's campie. This Green1954 Aljoa Sportsman looks so inviting and move-in ready!  I have known it's proud owner for quite some time on Facebook and when I have worked my way up to her submission, I was smitten! I had NO idea her little campie would be such a cute treasure.

This time in my camper-a-day event I have taken the approach of first come-first served. If, for whatever reason I couldn't paint a camper set-up, I have contacted the owner directly and asked for different photos. Also, this time around, I am not opening all the photos immediately. I wait til it is their turn to be painted and so it is a surprise for me what I'll end up painting each day! I loooooove it! Thanks everyone!!!

Today, I like the dark green and honey colored wood this green1954 Aljoa Sportsman features. Nowadays, light color themes prevail and many vintage campers are being painted over to suit a more contemporary style. But this one here has kept it's vintage look. Love it!

Funny, here I'm talking about keeping the original look- I, the one that painted white her own camper's whole interior, haha. But to my defense, it didn't sport any wonderful birch ply.

At the moment I'm dreaming of an Airstream as a backyard studio.... but again, it would have to be shell-only, gutted! It almost breaks my heart to see any 1950's or 60's beauty stripped of it's original interior. So, I will have to wait for one that is already gutted by someone else. This way I don't feel bad having done any damage.

Anyhow, enough of my dreams, I wish you a wonderful day and hope to see you here again, same time, same station, new camper;-) Happy Trails!

2009 Shasta Airflyte 12

2009 Shasta Airflyte 12orig. watercolor, 8x10in (matted size: 11x14in)
purchase info here

Today's feature camper is not a vintage as in 30 years or more, but, well, a 2009 vintage. It is a Shasta re-issue Retro Camper. I have never included one in my camper-a-day projects ever, but I don't think I have ever had one submitted either. So, as I liked the beautiful red color and the sun creating wonderful shadows on the siding, I was thrilled to get started with the painting!

The Retros are very popular, giving people all the modern comforts and safety standards including the cute vintage look. Certainly worth a consideration if budget is not the problem but rather the carpentry...

I am still looking for a few more camper submissions, so if you know of someone who might like to send in a pic, please send them to my submissions page here. The maximum file size is 1MB, that's the only thing to keep in mind. I think some folks might have had problems with re-sizing their photos. Easy way to downsize from a cell phone is to send the photo to ones own email. My Iphone offers four different sizes: small, medium, large, original size. I pick the size just below 1 mb and send it to my own email. There I can download it very easily to my photo stream again in the changed sized. 

I hope we will meet again tomorrow, same page with another campie.... thanks for stopping by and spreading the word!

Simone

1953 King Camper 'Queenie'

1953 King Camper 'Queenie'

orig. watercolor 8x10in, matted to fit 11x14in frame, 
more info and purchase: click here

Today's cute camper is a 1953 King Camper named Queenie. It doesn't have any paint color, but left its natural aluminum siding. I painted a King Camper last year and it reflected the desert setting, so it was great to see today's camper which looks so sweet all decked out in bunting and cowboy boots and vintage finds.

I don't have a lot of info on the camper manufacturer, except it was built in the 50's in Los Angeles, CA. The great guys at TinCan Tourists have a great wiki archive, where I find great info on all kinds of different trailers while I am painting. If you are renovating one or looking to get one, check out their website! There are not many around, so if you  know someone with one, or happen to own one, wohoo- lucky, lucky!!

Here I want to share with you what it's proud owner sent to me. 'She is called "Queenie". And I often say: "I wonder if she thinks about me as much as I think about her."

Today will mark the back-to-school for us again. The kids are so excited to see their friends again, pack their lunches and start a new year of adventures and discoveries. I am excited for them and with them. I look forward to some more me-time for uninterrupted painting and maybe even a lunch date with my hubby. Life is good at the Ritter household...

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you will continue the journey with me as I will paint another vintage camper tomorrow! Have a wonderful day!

Camper a Day 2017 begins today!

Wohoo! Today marks the first day of my 2017 painting a vintage camper trailer or camper van for each day of September. I am always looking forward to it, as it requires discipline to make it happen. The time to paint, to photograph, edit, blog, list on my website, cross post to my social feeds and so on will take a good chunk out of every day this month.

Also, September marks 'back to school' for my gang and with last loose ends to tie and myself finishing up taking a colour mixing and theory course that was this week, I am glad that soon life will settle into its new routine. What nicer way to celebrate this with daily painting!?

As every year, my month-long painting endeavour is not a one-woman-event. Many generous vintage camper enthusiasts that share photos of their little loves with me and give me permission to paint from their photos make my project possible. Thank you, each and everyone from the bottom of my heart!

If you read this and would like to submit a photo that you have taken, please use my submissions form by clicking here or go to my website directly. You might even know a friend who might like to join the fun! Please do invite them as I need... well... 30 campers to being able to paint a camper a day 2017!

Our first camper-a-day model!

1987 Cadet Camper watercolour 8x10in, sold

Today's feature camper is from Canada's East Coast. It is a 1987 Cadet. Now, most vintage North American campers have some kind of horizontally ribbed siding. In Europe most campers have plain, untextured siding, often fiberglass. This Cadet has that, too. This summer I went to my very first vintage camper meet on Prince Edward Island, Canada. I learned that the Cadets were originally built in Poland and some 200+ empty shells got exported to Canada. There they were finished to Canadian standards and sold. (TinCan Tourist Wiki tells me 500 Cadets made it to the US).

European camper trailer caravans often have little tents that can be added for extra space. They look quite cute, sort of like little houses. This one has one of those, too and my heart always jumps a beat when I see one. It does remind me of my youth back in Germany;-). So, what better camper to get my camper-a-day 2017 started than this one here who started its life in Europe- just as me!

If you want to journey along, please subscribe to my newsletter or facebook page or instagram feed.

Camper Painting Project September 2016

September has come to a close, and my Camper Painting Project September 2016 has successfully finished, too. Here in a collage featuring all campers and paintings that I have painted for this project. There might be one or two more added later, but here you have them all from September 2016.

I promised to host a voting where you all can choose your favorite campies to be selected the feature campers for my 2017 calendar.

Right now, I am still working behind the scenes to get that voting platform installed and working *yikes*. So let's hope by Monday or Tuesday I'll be up and running. I will announce that on this blog and via my social platforms (FB and Instagram @SimoneRitterArt). It will be so much fun and I hope you can participate!

Please keep an eye out for it!

Thank you to all of you who submitted your wonderful photos- I was overwhelmed with your many, many photos that you sent in! If I had another month to paint, I couldn't even feature them all! It was a great honour to paint each and every one of them, and to share a story with each painting. I hope it brought a smile to your daily life- it sure brought a lot of joy to mine!

Thank you again for journeying with me and stay tuned for the voting after the weekend!

Happy Trails!                    Simone

Airstream Camper and 1963 Red Shasta Compact

Airstream Front View at Dusk

orig. watercolor 11x14in (matted to 16x20in, ready for a frame)

more info and purchase: click here

Today marks the last day for my 'Camper-a-Day' Project.

Wow, it has been intense. It was a lot of painting, photographing, editing, blogging, writing, posting, sharing. I am tired now, haha!

But it was so much fun! I met so many new, wonderful people that share the same enthusiasm for their hobby and dreams as I do! Thank you for journeying with me!

As I didn't get to really have a good representation of Airstreams, here is one as my feature camper today. It was a cropped photo taken at dusk, so there was not so much light to play with or color reflecting on the panels but warm glow from the string-lights. I enjoyed painting this one, but I have to say it was a challenge, too!

1963 Red Shasta Compact

orig. watercolor 11x14 in (matted to 16x20 matboard)

more info and purchase: please click here

The second camper today, a 1963 Red Shasta Compact, is of a dear Canadian Lady Camper who also has a vintage shop biz out of her darling campers and home. You can check her FB page out by clicking here: Cellar Relics. She is also a treasure trove for any questions vintage camper related for sourcing or what to look for... I almost had forgotten to paint her campie!!! I really wanted to!

Even though this month is over and we will have to vote now for our favorite camper paintings, I am still looking for a Christmas Camper photo for my 'December' Slot in the calendar! I got so many submissions, but no Christmas Season campie! If you an help me out, or know of someone, please send them to my website to send in a pic! Thank you!

I am still finalizing how to best do the voting, so it might take me til Monday for the voting to be set up, but it will start soon! Keep your eyes on my fb feeds or here on my blog/website!!!

Thank you again for your interest and stopping by to walk with me! I feel so blessed! THank YOU!

Simone

ps: great, big thank you to Leslie Saeta for hosting again this month's painting challenge! It was a lot of fun, thank you!

1964 SCS Shasta in a Field of Roses

1964 SCS Shasta in a Field of Roses

orig. watercolor 11x14in (matted onto a 16x20 archival matboard)

for more info and purchase: please click here

Yes, we've had a whole bunch of Aqua Shasta's this month! It must be a very popular color!

This one here I call 1964 SCS Shasta in a Field of Roses.

I chose this one as I liked that vintage truck with it, so cute. And as the fall is here now in the Maritimes with colder nights and crisp air in the mornings, I liked the warm sunshine drenching this scene. Summer- where art though??? I miss you already!

This is s special Shasta as the owner explains:

'1964 SCS Shasta, the SCS stands for "Self-Contained with a Shower", I call her "Super Cute Shasta"'

A couple of days ago, we had another aqua colored Shasta, featuring a pinup girl. You can read about it by clicking here.

I'm off to bed now, as tomorrow we have a busy day ahead of us: my youngest fledgling is starting hockey and will be in hockey gear the first time! You should see the huge mount of gear I just packed! Unbelievable! Those hockey players are dressed like tanks! I quietly had hoped that this cup would pass by us, but once he heard about hockey sign up, he really wanted to give it a try. So, here we go, you might see me post hockey sketches soon!

I hope you enjoyed this month filled with campies and I thank you very much for journeying with me! Thank you, thank you! If you like a camper, please feel free to share the post or photo to your social feeds! But we'll see you tomorrow with another camper- end stretch for me!

I'm wishing you a great day and thanks for stopping by!               Simone

Teardrop Camper 'Mary Beth'

Teardrop Camper 'Mary Beth'

orig. watercolor 11x14in approx. (matted to 16x20 archival matboard)

more info and purchase: please click here

As this month's Camper-a-Day project comes to a close, I thought I'd spice it up with one of those cute, beloved teardrop campers. Here we have 'Mary Beth'. I do not know a whole lot about her, but that her proud owner built her by herself!!! Now, that is awesome! Girl power!

My to-do-camper rebuild:

Reminds me, that I might have to dig in myself if I ever want my darling disassembled Glenette Camper re-built. At the moment it resides in our back-storage of our inn- lovingly are all individual parts stored inside waiting patiently for now about two years! Yikes! If I don't get to it someday soon, I might forget how it got together! I took photos, but who knows how many questions will surface once the re-build starts. I assume my darling husband still has the hope that I will let him off the hook by acclaiming one day that we should just scrap the camper project.

And the story that goes with it:

What he doesn't know is that I still dream of this little trailer where I camped my very first time in Canada. I was invited to go hunting Moose in the wilderness without electricity and a dug-out toilet-hole in the bush! And a group of old men- all retired- that wanted to show me how rough the huntin' is in this country! Haha! One day I saw a bear running down the lane where the camper was parked- that freaked me right out as I had just used the outdoor 'toilet'! Makes for fun stories for sure! I got this camper, my Glenette now, as a gift once the old gentlemen retired it!

As you can see, I come from the highly tamed Germany where nature's inhabitants consists of small foxes and the odd dear and maybe a hedgehog. We never got that moose by the way...

Now, what does this have to do with this teardrop camper? I don't know, just somehow felt like sharing this little anecdote.

In any case, this month soon will come to a close. I will be wrapping up my camper project soon and hope you will help me cast your vote which paintings to choose for the 2017 Camper Calendar!

Hope to see you again tomorrow, with another Camper of the Day!                       Simone

1961 Metzendorf 'Downton Abbey'

1961 Metzendorf 'Downton Abbey'

orig. watercolor 11x14in approx. (matted to 16x20in archival matting)

for more info and purchase: click here

Today's camper is very British and sports the Union Jack and other Brit-themed decor and colours. The reason, of course is the beloved PBS series 'Downton Abbey' which aired it final season this year. My husband and I enjoyed watching it, too, so I do understand the motive for this camper decor.

What I love about this camper is that Metzendorf is a German name, so I had to look up with my friends at TinCanTourists.com for info. Here is what they have- just a bit of info on its original owner and an obituary from the owner who bought the plant and built the campers for 18 after that!

Founder of Metzendorf Camper Trailers:

(Provided by great nephew Brin Metzendorf)

The campers were produced in the 50's and early 60's by Martin Metzendorf of West Farmington, Ohio, approximately 10 miles northwest of Warren, Ohio. Martin (my great-uncle) and his wife had the trailers built with Amish laborers, she picked out the interior patterns and colors. They delivered most of the trailers themselves until a delivery accident deprived my great-aunt of her arm. Martin sold the business in the early 60's and the trailer was produced for a few more years under the Metzendorf name, I believe they closed the doors in '63 but I'm not 100% on that. If their is a real interest out there I might be able to piece together some facts from my relatives, but admittedly they're all a touch fuzzy on events from forty years ago. 

Here's an excerpt from the Obituary of the German Karl H. Gerlt, who bought the plant from Metzendorf:

Karl H. Gerlt 1919-2007 Western Reserve #507 was born Aug. 22, 1919, in Bremerhaven, Germany, the son of Emil and Charlotte Gerlt.

He came to the United States, with his parents and two bothers Emil and Helmut. They settled in New Jersey, where he graduated from Bagota High School.

He enlisted in the Army at the start of World War II. He received the Commission of 2nd Lieutenant in the Signal Corps and was later promoted to Captain.

Karl was transferred to the Military Intelligence Corp., serving with Supreme Head Quarters Allied Expeditionary Forces. He also served in the occupation force of Berlin, Germany, commanding the office of Communications.

Upon discharge from the Army, he married Velma Coster. They settled in West Farmington. He worked as an electrician for Ohio Lamp of Warren for 16 years, before purchasing Metzendorf Trailer Plant, in West Farmington, where he built travel trailers for 18 years. He then worked for the Village of West Farmington Water Treatment Plant, until he retired at age 71.

I know this is lengthy, but I thought it worth sharing. So, here you have it, the behind the scenes of the Metzendorf Camper! More info is on the TinCan Tourist website

We'll see you tomorrow again with another campie!                        Simone

1963 Mobil Scout "Mabel'

1963 Mobil Scout "Mabel'

orig. watercolor 11x14in approx. (archivally matted to 16x20in mat board)

more info and purchase: click here

Today's camper is a diamant in the rough still. But so many vintage campers are when they first get discovered and eventually will be lovingly restored. This is the case here with this 1963 Mobil Scout 'Mabel' as well. 

Its proud owner wrote those lines to introduce her:

'Here is Mabel our our vintage camper. She is being restored (and) will have new paint in same colors and design. Glass in triangle door window and no orange tape. We rescued (her) from the woods in Texas.'

Wow, if she is from 1963, we don't know how long she has been forgotten sitting in the woods! Since I have been bitten by the camper-bug, wherever I travel my eyes wander to the woods, too, to any field, behind houses, yards and so on to scout for that vintage camper gem. My friends make fun of me now, but really, after a while I hear them comment on any vintage camper they see! In our neck of the woods, there are still so many around, just waiting to be picked up!

If you are looking for a project this winter and live in our area, just check the Kijiji or Craigslist listings or keep your eyes peeled when you travel. (Of course, if you are the driver, keep your eyes peeled on the street, haha).

I want to thank all of you who have submitted photos this month and keep journeying with me, it has been a blast and I learned a lot! There is only one more week 'til end of the month, so I might not be able to paint every camper submitted. Or I might have to keep painting into October... what is your take on this? Enough campers? Time to move on? Or keep glamping away? Please let me know! I'd like to hear from you!

In any case, w'll see you again tomorrow with another camper!                            Simone

Yellow Buttercup Vintage Camper

Yellow Buttercup Vintage Camper

orig. watercolor painting 11x14in approx. (matted to 16x20 archival mat)

purchase info: click here

If I'd have a winner for 'most work to send in a submission photo', this owner would be it hands down! Not only did she re-submit her photos in a re-sized format for me to be able to paint, but then, she set out and did a photo shoot to have a greater variety of shots to choose from!!!

Honestly, I felt humbled when I received all the emails. Thank you for all your work!

This campie is a fun example, that in the glamper world there is no holding back. You can see the 'Shasta wing' at the back attached, however, it is not original to the camper, as this make is not a Shasta, but the wing was just what was missing to finish the look! And hey, I think this is fully OK!

Here is the story behind this camper, which is just so tender and sweet:

'(I am) not sure of year or make. She's just a cute canned ham that I love.
My son (now 35 yrs old) used to say when he was around 3 yrs old
"Mommy, you're my little Buttercup". So, I had to name her Buttercup!
Then with the name, came the color. Buttercup yellow, inside and out.'

I hope you enjoy today's feature campie, as I very much enjoyed painting it, actually JUST finished it (still a tad wet;-)