Picture Perfect Polaroid

Known to those that cut the grass as "The Hill," this is how this section of the yard of my family's home looked in the spring of 1964. This walkway fostered my love of graphic shapes and their relationships in space with one another. The grid of gray, pink, and pale ocher cement blocks filled my little brain. My use of  similar shapes and the resulting repetitive patterns they create in my art today was begun by weeding this walkway and studying its color and shape patterns.

The War Years: Candles and Sad VIsages

Though not dated, I'm guessing Hoohoo is 18-20 at the oldest, which would mean this photo was taken before 1945, the war years.  The pinup beauty behind my grandmother is evocative of that period as well, with images like that frequently painted on the sides of U.S. warplanes. The candles on the table seem to be a way of making things "normal" but their faces say exactly the opposite. At this point in their lives, Hoohoo hadn't met her future husband yet, my father's brother, and my parents hadn't met either. Hoohoo's boyfriend was killed during the war, as were a few other young men from our small town. The high school classes usually only had 30-40 members—everyone knew everyone.

Accessories for your 1965 Lincoln

This is a small, 4 x 9 inches, 16-page brochure of accessories for your 1965 Lincoln Continental. There are factory installed options listed as well as dealer installed accessories. The purple ink used in the 2-color process was a bold decision. I found this copy at a town-wide book sale back in the '80s, hence the stamp on the cover and various inked codes. I didn't steal it from the library, lol! The cover and back cover posted above, with the rest of the booklet following in sequential order.

Quick Question of the Day: Do you prefer the wider, squatter Lincoln logo used in this piece from 1965, or the taller, thinner version used today? 

I think I'd like to see Lincoln, newly separated from Mercury for good, start off their new product onslaught with an updated start logo. I think this 1965 version would look great. What's old is new again! The wider version would take up more grille or trunk "real estate" and thus might serve to show just how new the brand-new Lincolns are...

Starting off the Day—1,2,3

Fun with Numbers:
I start off each day with a little ritual of turning off the night lights in the kitchen and center hall. The night light over the stove needs just one click and it's off. The small table lamp with the 15 amp bulb on the oak kitchen table requires two quick taps on the stem to shut it off. The faux Victorian double-globe glass lamp from the 1940s in the hall is a bit trickier. The night light portion is in the bottom globe and there's a regular bulb in the top globe. To turn the night light off, you have to click three times—once to turn the top globe's bulb on., once again to turn both the top and bottom bulbs on at the same time, and a third time to turn both globes off. So that's three clicks. The entire daily operation Night Light Off sequence is 1, 2, 3. I'm not completely OCD about it but I won't turn the middle lamp off first and throw the sequence off, lol.

Buick's Large RWD Sport Sedan—Lucerne Reborn

The current Lacrosse is a great car, but isn't the flagship Buick needs. My Lucerne, reborn with RWD and a hybrid performance drivetrain, could be.

C H O P — The flagship Buick luxury sport sedan, the reborn rear-wheel drive Lucerne. I've pushed and pulled the sheetmetal around the larger wheels and tires. The bodysides now feature a subtle "sweepspear" contour and the larger Buick logo on the trunk is anchored by a chrome molding at the sweepspear's height, carrying that line around the rear of the car. The rocker panels have dark argent skirting on them, making the painted body seem lower and longer. A black glass roof finishes the transformation. A twin-charged small displacement, direct-injected V6 with hybrid assist, yields 300hp and 35mpg with 0-60 in the 6 second range.

Lincoln—Moving Forward

And now something brand new... My Lincoln Zephyr Hybrid 5 door hatchback. 

C H O P — I began with the just-released Peugeot 508 sedan. I extended the wheelbase in front of the cabin and shortened the overhang as I added the current Lincoln trademark split grille. For the greenhouse, I left the thick chrome trim around the windows in the doors, to emphasize a "sedan" look even though I've made it a fastback hatchback. For the "sixth" window, or the C pillar glass, I indented and inset a frameless triangular pane complete with the Lincoln Star logo. The classic Town Car's C pillar opera windows were "frenched" into the vinyl roof, making them non-contiguous with the greenhouse windows, and that's the reason I added these windows without including the chrome frame around them. It's a Lincoln touch in concept if not the usual execution. This car carries almost none of the perceived Lincoln cues, with the exception of the grille, suicide doors and Star logo, but I think it's a high-quality looking car, and would help move Lincoln forward in the 21st century. 

A Look Back at AMC: 1974's Pivotal Year

From AMC's 1974 Full Lineup Dealer Brochure

Front and rear covers of AMC's full lineup dealer brochure from 1974. The front features the brand new-for-'74 Matador Coupe, with the Hornet Hatchback to the right and the Gremlin to the left. All appear to be decked out in X trim, the sportiest version of each model. The back cover features the luxury Ambassador Brougham sedan in the center with a Javelin to its right and a Hornet Sportabout wagon to its left. This last Ambassador, with a 122" wheelbase, is the largest this platform would become. The Ambassador and the Javelin would both be gone by 1975.

• I can't really look at AMCs of this vintage without thinking of the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun, which used several 1974 AMC cars in its production. Bond commandeered a Hornet Hatchback coupe, and the evil Scaramanga's Matador Coupe sprouted wings and flew away.

• Further information at Wiki for Ambassador, Matador, Javelin, Hornet, and Gremlin. The cult-classic Pacer would be introduced the following year, 1975.

Four selected detail shots from the chapter openers in this brochure, Gremlin, Hornet hatchback, Hornet Sportabout and Matador coupe. Notice the white lettered performance tires on three of the cars, including the Sportabout with the woody option. Also notice the copper-toned grille inserts for the Matador coupe. They were included with the top-of-the-line Oleg Cassini edition, which also had a unique luxury interior and specific exterior colors and trim.

The Gremlin's optional interior treatments included this red "Fairway" simulated knitted vinyl bench/buckets, and the now-famous LEVI'S faux-denim bucket seats.

The Oleg Cassini edition Matador coupe interior. with copper-colored accents, including an Oleg Cassini crest on each seat back, with rich black everywhere else. This button-tufted cloth split bench seat traces its roots back to Nash's infamous reclining seats of thirty years earlier.

The AMX was now a trim level of the Javelin series, in this the Javelin's final year on the market. The original 2 seat AMXs, 1968-70, are highly-collectible now. I was never as enamored with the facelifted body of the '71-'74 Javelin/AMX. Standard engine for the Javelin was the trusty 232 I-6, and for the AMX, the base 304 V8. Optional powerplants included the 401 V8 with "Go" Package.

This color chart is so definitely NOT from this century, lol. Check out the SEVEN vinyl roof color options. The main palette is full and very saturated with pigments in every hue. I think it sure beats the heck out of the various silvers, grays and blacks we're given as choices today!

A Look Back at 2009's Flowers

A Few of my Flowers from Before I Started This Blog

An orange dahlia from October 2009. 

A purple Siberian Iris, June 2009. 

Pink Gerber daisies, arrangement, May 2009.

An old-stock Tea Rose from Pink Gardens' grounds, summer 2009. 

Tiger Lily, June 2009.

I've photographed my flowers and gardens for years and years. I just didn't ever put them online for the public. I would email my individual friends photos all the time though. These images are all from the 2009 growing season.

The Full-Sized Ford's Final Development*

Original dealer brochure cover for the 1978 Ford LTD.

Optional features included power windows, Landau roof treatment and aluminum wheels.

The rear view of the top-of-the line LTD Landau 4 door pillared sedan.

M Y   C O L L E C T I O N — The seventies was a decade of change for the automobile industry. New federal rules, laws and guidelines took came to pass every single year of the decade, sending engineers and buyers alike into a decade-long tailspin. By 1980, the business had practically reinvented itself with everyone downsizing their model lines and trying to meet emissions controls and gas mileage regulations. The full-sized Fords were downsized for the 1979 model year, making these 1978 Fords as large as the original family Ford would ever get. Their wheelbase was 121 inches, their overall length a bit more than 18 1/2 feet, and their weight was more than two tons. Though suffering somewhat from the tackier side of seventies' culture, and of course the more stringent bumper regulations, there is an elegance to these Fords that wasn't to be repeated. I wish the optional fender skirts had been able to be made flush, the small raised lip on the rear fender cutout makes that impossible. I'm guessing they were a boardroom Marketing decision rather than a Design decision. You can't deny that this was a very luxurious look for a mainstream division.

• For  a moderately informative Wiki page on the Ford LTD 1965-86, click over.

* Yes, there were full-sized Fords after 1978 but they were downsized. I'm considering the '78 Fords to be the final iteration of the large Ford lineup without regard to size, weight and mileage.

My 2011 SEMA Charger

My 2011 SEMA Charger R/T, top, original press photo, below. 

C H O P — Not really my cuppa tea, but the new Charger really cried out for the SEMA treatment. I enlarged the new grille and made the front end even more aggressive. The rest is paint and trim, including a darkened roof and green house, polished aluminum mirror casings, and a painted hood treatment evocative of the '67-'68 Mustang. 

Growing Season Finished, 2010

Last of the vegetables a la artandcolour

The last of the tomatoes, green and red.

With a few added crops from the yard, including yellow lemon cucumbers, red chili peppers, chives and nasturtiums.

Well, the first frost of the season is history, as are the zinnias, dahlias, morning glories and most of the cosmos. The geraniums on the porch are fine, and I managed to pick all the basil and these last tomatoes the night before. For the photoshoot I placed my "crops" on a couple of sections of an antique door I'm painting. I was given a paneled door last year which was beyond repair at the bottom and I was able to make four separate "canvases" for my paintings. My painted "Kennedy Rocker" is visible in the bottom photo.

Seen in Town Yesterday, Two Great Cars

Well, truth be told, these two examples of great cars were seen in towns bordering mine. The 1992 Porsche Turbo, above, was basking in the last October sun in a local parking lot. Below, is Jaguar XKE 4.2 Coupe from the mid 1960s. The glossy navy blue exterior contrasted beautifully withe red and black leather interior and wooden Nardi steering wheel. Regular readers will remember that earlier this year another Jaguar made it into "Seen in Town." 

a u t u m n c o l o u r s

All photos clickable. Colors from yesterday and today.

Moving Indoors

In my never ending search for artandcolour in everyday life, the colors have moved indoors for the season. Top, the dahlias hanging out in technicolor early afternoon light, and above, the cactus buds continue to open.