Exploring Rt 66 with Bernie Hubert

It is pretty exciting to find art that reflects what I love to discover on my Sunday Drives and its even better when the art is of objects and scenes I have tried to capture with my camera. Old trucks, neon signs, vintage advertisements; all these things capture my attention and imagination. The same can be said for acrylic artist Bernie Hubert. I ‘met’ Bernie through work; we are featuring his work in an upcoming issue of Acrylic Artist magazine.

Bernie’s work captures Americana. Below are three pieces that really caught my eye.

I am not ashamed to admit that I have taken many pictures of street and road signs. Sometimes it is for the splash of color they afford; other times it’s to help tell the story of traveling along an historic stretch of highway, like the Lincoln Highway. Bernie is often driving along Rt. 66- the most iconic American highway.

"Pre 1937 Rt 66 is quite large, and, if you look carefully, it's actually two canvas's, and both with rounded "sign-like" edges......the image is taken from actual roadside signs in New Mexico." Rt 66 Historic Sign (acrylic, 38x58)

Bernie and I are not the only ones to love old signs; especially ones for motels along the great highways. We have an entire museum dedicated to old signs here in Cincinnati- the American Sign Museum and if the draw of crowds the museums attracts is any indication; old signs have a hold on a lot of us.

"Tucumcari, NM is probably the number one place for Route 66 aficionados to go," shares Hubert. "I've been to all the off-ramps along the I-40 and Tucumcari has produced probably 75 percent of all my Route 66 imagery, which I ultimately use for my paintings.The Palomino Motel is in Tucumcari, and still very much in business. The image I used however was a photo I found on the internet. What gives that away is the sign with rooms for $21".

Rt 66 Palomino (acrylic, 20x30)

There is something beautiful about old, rusting trucks that still have hints of their original colors. Rusted, left along the side of the road, in a vine-covered barn or sometimes in the middle of the woods; an old car with a nice patina as Mike from American Pickers would say (this is code for a heck of a lot of rust) never fails to make for a great picture and in Bernie’s case a painting. 

"The Tucumcari Truck is something that I must have passed 6-8 times. I'd stop, look it over, but never take a photo" Hubert reflects. "And then when I finally decided to take one, my camera batteries died and I could not find a battery anywhere in that town! Then the next time the sun wasn't out."  Fortunately for Bernie, and for us, his luck improved. "Finally I made a special pass through Tucumcari just to get a photo or two of the truck, and the rest is history."
Tumcumcari Truck Historic RT 66 (acrylic 18x24)