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!

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!

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

Boiling the Wool at Ingraham's House

orig. watercolor 11x14in (framed: 16x20)

purchase info, please click here

This weekend was a busy one for me. I got juried to attend my first plein air event. Participating artists were gathering to paint for two days at the historic village settlement 'King's Landing' near Fredericton, New Brunswick. At the end of the two days, all submitted artwork that was painted in those two days was judged and the top three winners announced.

It was quite an experience for me, had I never done an event like this before. First, it involved having enough paintings created for my 'camper a day' project and ready to be posted daily while I was away. I knew I would't have internet. King's Landing is, well, a historic settlement!

Getting Ready:

I had to pack not only my paints and papers, but decide what size paintings I wanted to create and get the frames and mats and any tools needed for assembly ready-to-go and packed.

The event started on Saturday morning 8am sharp with 'stamping of the canvas' which means any artwork created had to be done on canvas or paper that was stamped at the start of the event. This was to forego people cheating with artworks being submitted that they had created prior to the event.

I had a whole stack of papers stamped with my thought being, that I don't know how many times I will screw up to start over, haha! Fortunately, all my paintings except one sketch made the cut and I could frame them. I was able to hand in six paintings in all.

And a great ending:

My painting 'Boiling the Wool at Ingraham's House' came in third place, which I am ecstatic about. It made my day! Not only were the other artists so helpful, positive and supportive, but the village itself and its staff were most friendly and also helped by showcasing a variety of activities done in the 19th century. This made for wonderful subject matter!

The main organizer's home got struck by lightning only two weeks prior to the event.  She was such a trooper, keeping a smile the whole time and helping whenever she could. I hope to participate again next year- God willing. It was a wonderful weekend! Thank you to all wonderful artists, organizers and supporters for making this fundraiser event so much fun!

1953 King Canned Ham

1953 King Canned Ham

orig. watercolor, 11x14in approx.

purchase info: click here

Today's sweet camper is this 1953 King Canned Ham. It sports a polished exterior and very simplistic decor, so I really liked this desert theme very much and choose to paint it.

Here is what its proud owner writes:

'I travel with my two Golden Doodles living near the coast in summer and desert in the winter. Wilbur and Walter are both Therapy dogs,so we can visit assisted living facilities,schools,Vets Memorial. College campuses. They love the beach,so we work in those area mostly.'

Wow, this campie has a job, to bring the two therapy dogs to workplaces! How awesome is this?

Usually we think of 'happy camping' and vacation, but really, many, many vintage campers have been converted to earn their existence in one way or another. Food trucks, travelling antique shops, even hair studios and beyond! Well, my 'Little Wings' is my travelling art studio, too, so, yes, I know all about it!

Actually, talking about travelling art studio:

I am excited to tell you that I got accepted into the juried Plein Air Event at Kings Landing Historic Settlement this Saturday and Sunday. I am still debating to take Little Wings or stay at the offered Summer Camp Cabin. Either will be pretty basic accommodation, but that is fine for me. Will call the organizer tomorrow to ask a couple more questions. This will be my first plein air event, I feel just now that the kids are ready for me to take off a couple of days and dad is 'the mom'.

They surely enjoyed last weekend when I was away at a course. I am the disciplinarian, he is the fun guy (but working too often and he doesn't have enough time with them really). So, it is a win- win for all. And I enjoy how my 'stocks' go up, after coming home- I am more appreciated, too!

In any case, stay in touch to see what our camper of the day will be tomorrow!           Simone

1972 VW Camper Van 'Magnolia'

1972 VW Camper Van 'Magnolia'

orig. watercolor 5x7in approx, painted plein air (on location)

purchase info: click here

Here we have a local camper,  this yellow 1972 VW Camper Van 'Magnolia'. She is proudly owned by a young woman who works in town for the summer and takes her on lots of fun trips and adventures. You can see some of her pics at #magnoliaadventure

Magnolia has those fun 'eye lids' on her front lights and her owner shared with me that they stopped making them at later models. It's the little details that make something special! I hope to do a larger painting of Magnolia down the road, but feel super lucky to have been able to paint her on location while I was out on a stroll with the kids (we were coming from the ice cream store actually, haha). So, the kids went for a beach comb and I took my travel-size painting gear out (which comes with me often). Thanks Magnolia, you made my day!

I'm trying to get a new routine down again, now that school is up and running again. Surely we had a fun summer with lots going on, but it feels good to get back into the swing of things and with our inn slowing down soon, there will be more family time with daddy, too! All in all, good things! I love painting cute campies in the meantime!

See you tomorrow again with another vintage camper to share! Hm, what might it be?