The Amarillo Art Institute in Amarillo, Texas, is hosting an exhibit, “The Mother Road — Open Air, Open Road,” of dozens of paintings of Route 66 landmarks and signs.
The exhibit runs through Sept. 26 at AAI’s Vermillion Gallery at 3701 Plains Blvd. According to the Amarillo Globe-News:
The show, the first joint effort between Plein Air Painters of New Mexico (PAPNM) and the Amarillo Art Institute, drew a full crowd for its opening reception. Attendees mingled with artists who had spent months tracing both the highway’s current path and its older pre-1937 alignments, finding subjects that ranged from brightly lit motels to abandoned roadside churches.
PAPNM is a professional association of artists and sponsors dedicated to preserving and promoting painting “en plein air” — in the open air, or outdoors. To ensure authenticity, participants were required to show their works were created on location. Each artist used a date-stamp placard photographed alongside the painting during its early layout and again at about 80% completion. Those progress shots were turned in with the finished piece to confirm that the bulk of the work was done outdoors, on site. […]
Organizers staged five paint-outs along the route, encouraging artists to immerse themselves in the sights and rhythms of the Mother Road. Gunderson said the process uncovered overlooked corners of the highway’s history, from forgotten alignments to businesses bypassed by the interstate. […]
Subjects stretched from Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo to weathered gas stations, shuttered diners and ghost towns, including Shamrock, Vega and Glenrio. One memorable stop was a tire shop in Moriarty, N.M., where Gunderson spoke with a 93-year-old owner who has run the business since the 1960s.
Images from the exhibit can be seen here.
(A sample of paintings on display at the Amarillo Art Institute)