Goodby old friend...

Today I did my part towards the economic recovery by buying a new pickup truck. My old '89 Toyota has been a very loyal art-transportation-vehicle for 20 years, so it's with a little bit of sadness that I part with it. With a cap on the back, it was the perfect "box" to transport paintings up to about 4x6 feet, and has been very handy when I stop by the lumberyard to buy molding for framing or stretchers.

I loved the simplicity of it too, but it was getting pretty creaky, was starting to visit the shop every few months, and the rust is crawling up the side panels. Since it's a good time to buy a car I decided to replace it with a 2009 version, a Toyota Tacoma, as stripped down and simple as possible.

It's been 20 years since I was in an automobile showroom but that part sure hasn't changed much. What has changed is having the internet as a research tool. I really didn't have many questions after I used the internet to "build" my truck, it was just a matter of finding out who had the truck I wanted at the best price. So it went much more quickly than I thought it would, and I'm going to pick it up tonight. I'm not sure I'm psychologically ready to part with old faithful, but the 89 truck goes to my niece to commute to school and carry her acoustic bass. So it's not being abandoned, it's just changing art forms!

Here's a picture of it when it, and I, was young....



And now, showing its age... (notice I'm not in this picture)


Goodby 1989! Thanks for getting me and my work where I needed to go!