I've always been one of those people that has been infatuated with antique cars but never had the money or guts to own one. That has never stopped me from painting them though! I had a great time painting this "58 Cadillac.
As I painted this, I thought of our next door Portuguese neighbor, Antonio.
He and his wife are such nice people and we've befriended them over the last few years. They, like us, enjoy gardening, so we often exchange produce from our gardens. They are a retired couple and he's had a passion for antique cars his whole life - especially American models.
Most weekends, he opens up his garage and drives out a few of his favorites. He has a basement garage under his house where he parks, tinkers with and fully restores his collection. One day, he invited us down into his garage and I was so excited to see all the different models. The one that I was thrilled to see (and honestly had never heard of) was a BMW model that they started making with an airplane cockpit and a small two stroke motorcycle engine. The thing opens on the front - I mean that the windshield and dash board (including steering wheel) hinge open to allow the driver and passengers to climb in. So cool!
I was so excited to show him my painting of the Cadillac and give him the painting that reminded me of him. When I came to his door, he was so complimentary of my painting but when I told him I was giving him the painting, he almost got emotional. He invited me down again into his garage and I snapped the picture below of him holding my painting in front of his '38 Citreon. I love giving my art away to people who I share connections with! It's so fun!
