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About the Artist |
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Paige Bridges |
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I was born and raised in West Virginia, and attended Marshall
University (be sure to see the movie "WE ARE MARSHALL!") as a fine art major. After college I wound up in Van Zandt
County, Texas as a young mother and homemaker. With the birth of my third
child, a personal decision was made regarding the serious pursuit of art,
teaching, and a career. Raised in a transitional era regarding women
working vs. stay-at-home moms, I was able to bridge the gap by achieving
both with balance. I had given private painting lessons to students as far
back as 1968, and by the time my husband David and I relocated to our
present home - a converted restaurant / bait-and-tackle shop - I was
conducting lessons on a regular basis without ever having to leave my
children in daycare.
The effort paid off ... With all my children now raised, married and settled down, I have been able to branch out and have added a custom frame shop to my studio - which are both located at my home here in Wills Point! Now I am presently working with a group of local artists to promote fine art in Northeast Texas. Together we have formed a not-for-profit organization called the NorthEast Texas Fine Art Alliance (NETFAA), meeting every second Thursday each month in the larger town of Terrell, Texas. Check out our new web site: www.NETFAA.com . |
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I have also successfully planned and carried out several fine art exhibits
and sales locally. The most recent involving several silent auctions at American
National Bank here in Wills Point. But I am perhaps best known in this community
as the artist who has rendered pen & ink drawings of many of the surrounding
towns' historical landmarks. From these, I produced sets of note cards which
continue to be marketed at various locations. My designs have been adopted commercially in a number of ventures. One of these involves a greeting card business representing my original artwork and that of some of my more advanced fine art students. "SIGNED BY THE ARTIST" Co-op Card racks feature individual note cards with envelopes, hand-made from reproductions of the artists' original paintings, signed (by the artist, of course!), sleeved and displayed on commercial, rotating card racks. At this time in my life, I believe I have reached a point where I should just "paint what I enjoy." I do not actively seek out commissions as I once did. (I prefer to consider the offers on their merits, not on how much money I can make!) Pastel on sanded paper is my favorite fine art medium, but I am equally at home with oil, pen & ink, and now casein (which is a type of watercolor.) In 2003 I started a series of paintings featuring small, vintage travel trailers. It has mushroomed into a delightful avocation of sorts and I plan to pursue it until the interest wanes. Right now, it is white hot! I have licensed several of my pieces as commercial Christmas cards through RV Enterprises of Montpelier, Vermont. Here's the link: http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=Paige&Extensive_Search=Y**&Click=135 Scroll down to read about my collaboration with CURRENT, USA!
THE LATEST NEWS I have licensed my work with CURRENT USA to produce a number of products with my vintage travel trailer images. Right now they have a checkbook cover, personal checks, address labels, a 2010 Calendar - due out in July - and Christmas wrapping paper available for sale in their catalog, which can be viewed online: www.currentcatalog.com .
CURRENT Checkbook Cover
Click on the link below to see more:
** Vintage Trailer Supply of Montpelier, VT has boxed Christmas Cards and assorted Gift Items:
This photo (right) is of the film crew for Texas Country Reporter, setting up their next shot when they came out to my studio to do a segment for their TV show ... No, I'm not exactly a TV Star!
(Photo above) I was a VIP Exhibitor at the Texas Country Reporter Festival in Waxahachie, TX in October, 2007 and 2008. Here I am wearing my vintage trailer apron and standing in the midst of teeshirts and totebags adorned with my artwork. The program is still in re-runs on the RFD Channel.
HOW WE STARTED RVing ... My husband and I became avid RVers about 9 years ago and started traveling with a 22-foot Nomad bumper-pull. That satisfied us for about 2 years but we knew we would eventually upgrade to a fifth wheel because it has greater stability on the road and we wanted more room. That happened quite unexpectedly when our overseer pastor decided it was time to retire and sold us his (nearly) new 30' Wilderness for a great price. What a delight it was ... Nevertheless a trip to the Dallas RV Show in the Spring of 2004 let us know we just HAD to trade up for this fabulous 37-foot Montana with four slide-outs! (It sports an upstairs living room with 2 couches, a fireplace and a central vacuum system.) Our first big camping trip was to Cleveland, Ohio, West Virginia, western Kentucky (to fish) and a side trip to Caddo Lake in far east Texas. A grand total of 4600 miles, at 7-miles-per-gallon! June 27, 2005 October, 2005 Entry: We decided to see the southwest this fall ... Visited the Grand Canyon and went to Colorado to see the golden aspen. Traveled about 2500 miles. This time we got around 6 mpg (climbing mountains) and paid as much as $3.59 per gallon for gasoline (at the Grand Canyon.) In May, 2008 we took our big truck and fifth wheel all the way to CA, making 2 Vintage Trailer rallies along the way. This was at the height of the gasoline prices. Logged 4500 miles ... Cost us a fortune! Oh well. We'd do it all over again ... But now we're scaling down to a vintage travel trailer! 1959 FAN Coach Travel Trailer
In May 2007 I became the proud owner of this wonderful, original 19' travel trailer. I found it on CraigsList in NE Arkansas. The seller was kind enough to bring it to me at no charge since he was enroute to Austin, TX and I was right on the way.
This will be a project trailer. It is in need of some real TLC: new tile flooring, a china toilet (which is missing) and new wiring and plumbing. Otherwise, just regular Old Elbow Grease should bring it back to life. (It has already been featured in one of my newer paintings called "SILVER BELLES," a Christmas scene.)
About the exact year of it's birth ... Because titles were not routinely issued back in the 1950's and 60's for these travel trailers, an exact year is sometimes guesswork. My German friend Juergen - Eichermueller@BauNetz.de - is an expert historian of travel trailers and has helped me nail it down to 1959, based primarily on the trailer's VIN, its length and the free-standing stove. I would love to hear from other FAN owners, though, and would be happy to exchange information. I have posted a Photo Album on the Yahoo FAN Club website.
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Yahoo! Fan Coach Company - For more information, or to join the FAN Coach Group, click on this link:
Or ... just e-mail me: paige@vintagetraveltrailerart.com .
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