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I was at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in September, invited by the Classic Car Club of America to be their guest artist on their annual CARavan event, this year hosted by the New England chapter.
I was prepping to sketch a 1937 Packard when I heard a roar and saw a flash of red coming up the main resort road.
I got up from my seat in time to see this huge long hot rod come into the parking lot and pull to a stop.
Of course, I had to get a better look at the motorized beast, and meet the driver stepping out of the cab.
Jay Ouellette introduced himself, and told me the story of “Red Screamer”, the hot rod he designed and built with his team over 1100 hours in a period of 2.5 years.
Jay is the proud owner of Bumper to Bumper Auto Repair in Twin Mountains NH and has been building hot rods for many years. It started in his youth, stimulated by what he saw and read in Hot Rod magazine.
He wanted to make a statement, and build something that no one else had built.
He started with a low-mileage decommissioned 1979 Maxim 100’ ladder truck, using the fire truck’s 8V92 Detroit Diesel engine, the 4 speed Allison automatic transmission and the front and rear axles, and attached them to a custom-built frame. Jay added a factory turbo-charger to get a good 424 hp out of the engine.
Jay did the plumbing and electrics for the beast, keeping the original airbrake and power-steering systems, along with the gauges and switches.
A special tribute to Von Dutch is painted on the differential case.
The cab is from a ‘46 Ford pickup truck, and the rear fenders are polished sheet aluminum.
By any measure, it is an impressive piece of bold rolling art that just screams, “I’m here!”
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Over a year ago, I was asked by Jeff DeMarey, organizer for the 2016 Classic Car Club of America’s CARavan New England Tour, to be their guest artist for the tour, held through mid-September of this year.
I had met Jeff at a few events in the US and Jeff was aware of my art and had seen me sketching live. Of course, I was hugely honoured to be have been asked so I accepted.
The annual CARavan tour takes place in a different area of North America each year, and for this year, the New England Region was hosting.
We gathered at the stunning Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire, and with a record number of 109 spectacular pre-war and early post-war luxury cars assembled, it looked somewhat like a “Great Gatsby” movie set … very surreal!
The list of makes attending the event was impressive ...
Lincoln, Chrysler, Duesenberg, Buick, Cadillac, Auburn, Pierce-Arrow, Cord, Packard, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, with even a Bugatti and an AC!
I met some really wonderful people from all over North America, and it’s very clear that everyone was enjoying the tour.
Me in a stunning 1937 Cord 812 Beverly “Coffin nose”.
We motored around the region for a few days, and then the tour moved to Maine, where the tour included a visit to the Seal Cove Auto Museum, the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum, and a lovely lunch at the coastal summer residence of Bill Ruger.
I was commissioned to do 5 sketches, but with the cars constantly touring about, I only got a sketch and a half done live on-the-spot, finishing the rest on my return to Halifax.
It was really exciting to be part of such a well-run, world-class event. I look forward to many more like it!
Giving back to your community is not always on our radar.
Life seems to carry us away like a speeding train, and we sometimes find it hard to step off.
On August 20th, the East Coast Exotic Car Show was taking place in support of the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Though I’m doing well in my role as a “starving artist”, I saw it as an opportunity to give back, in that my art could help raise funds for this worthy cause.
My framed art donation – 1964 Maranello Concessionaires Ferrari 250LM sketch
On the Friday evening before the event, there was a VIP reception with a live fundraising auction. I donated an original framed artwork, and that netted $750!
The next day during the show, I volunteered to live-sketch 2 of the cars, with the owners commissioning me, and giving the organization a donation of $1000 per sketch.
Photo © Terry Miller 2016
Photo © Susan Kerslake 2016
It all worked very well, with me sketching a lovely yellow Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 and a striking purple Porsche GT3 RS.
There was an impressive assortment of exotic cars, lots of eye candy for the spectators, including the Porsche 919 Hybrid racer and a BMW M1! Many of cars there were loaned in support of the event by Maritime Provinces car owners!
A lot of people stopped to chat while I sketched away, which made it an even more enjoyable day for me.
It’s very satisfying to know that you can make a difference for children in need and their families.
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