Mel’s Auto and Truck Sales, Inc. was a well-known dealer from the late 1960s though the early 2000s located about 5 miles south of Portsmouth, in North Hampton, NH. The yard was jammed with old cars, pickup trucks, locomotives, license plates, and signs. Unfortunately, the place no longer exists.
The idea for this painting began in the late 1990’s, when I traveled to New Hampshire for the weekend. I took several pictures with my SLR camera on slide film. Then in 2021, I was uninspired as I struggled with how the pandemic impacted our lives and wanted to paint something which brought back happy memories and I found the reference photos I had taken at Mel’s years before. Mel’s Truck Sales became my COVID painting! I discovered that working on this painting helped me visualize happier times and helped me grow through the pandemic. I hope it help others see happy times too!
