Saturday, November 5, 2011

"Black Bug"


6x8" oil on hardboard

I love bugs.... I mean VW bugs. My dad bought a brand new one back in 1967. It was black with red interior. My brother and I used to like to ride in the little space behind the back seat. I owned one myself in the late eighties. Mine was tan which wasn't my first color choice, but it was a great little car. The front passenger seat was worn out so I removed it. When friends rode with me they were forced to sit in the back. This certainly attracted some confused looks from other drivers. I guess they'd never seen a VW bug limo. It was stolen twice. The second time I found bullets, hand cuffs and latex gloves on the floorboards when I picked it up at CityTow. I have no idea what that was all about.

7 comments:

carol morgan carmichael said...

Love this and your story.

JacMac said...

great piece! I loved "BUGS" also, first one I had; I to hold the gear shift in third to drive it, it also had the extra gas lever on the floor since there wasn't any fuel gauge on the dash!

Nancy Colella said...

My first one was a very used 1967 freshly spray painted red convertible. I loved it. Curious to know what you think of the brand new bug that is coming out. It looks a little too slick for me. Call me old fashioned.

Anonymous said...

Michael, this is soooo "groovy" (to use a 70's phrase). Love your work.

Enjoy,
Eileen

Dottie T Leatherwood said...

Great story and great painting! I had a white VW Bug when I was a teenager with no passenger side mirror due to an altercation with a stop sign.

Michael Chamberlain said...

Thank you all for the comments! I'm so glad to hear other bug stories. I have so many!! There was the time the front hood opened on the freeway, completely blocking my vision. Or the time while driving in the winter I was overwhelmed by the smell of burning plastic. I pulled over and found that the mini boombox I had in the backseat footwell had melted into a blob! It was right in front of one of the heating vents. YIKES those things got HOT!

Darren love said...

Nice painting,... I love painting bugs as well,... they just have a happy look about them.