A little blast from 1959—Fiat Nuova 500 Coupe

At my mechanic’s recently, I saw a really sweet old car, just seven years older (and way more interesting) than my first car — a 1965 Fiat. He allowed me to take a photo or two, and I ended up making a painting of it against an abstracted version of his shop.

What’s special about this car? It was the first Fiat Nuova 500 Coupe to be exported to America. In Italy, they had a different standard for placement of the headlights, so to comply with U.S. standards, they moved them to the right height without re-tooling the body. Result: the Frog-eyed Fiat!

This painting is now a part of the family of art and music at the Argonaut Garage! Thank you Jason!

my fiat looked like thisNot nearly as much fun, but it got great gas mileage when it ran! (Even better when it didn’t!)

Frank Bette Plein-air Paint Out

here’s a preview detail of an unfinished painting of a house on Lincoln Street just a few blocks away from the Frank Bette center in Alameda. I think I’ll call it “Island Living” – it’s really all about the speed limits, 25-35 mph all over the island!

Come to the show and sale at the South Shore shopping center if you’re nearby, it’s on THIS COMING SATURDAY, all day, pretty much.

preview of an unfinished painting
preview of an unfinished painting