About the Artist

About the Artist

MY EXTREME HOME STUDIO

VINTAGE Trailer Art

CHRISTMAS Trailer Art

UNIQUE TRAILER ART PRODUCTS

Landmark Art

Commissions

Art 4 Parkinson's

	About the Artist
Paige Bridges	A Recent News Article about me: http://www.northeasttexan.com/LocalArtistDefiesOdds.htm
	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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Then My Life Took an Unexpected Turn

My husband and I began RVing with a small travel trailer in 1998. Like most Rvers, we eventually traded up to a larger fifth wheel which had a good bit of precious wall space. So in 2003 I did a small oil painting for the LR area that featured a tiny pink and white vintage travel trailer pulled by a woodie station wagon. At the time I had only begun selling things on eBay and decided to try a print of this painting, just to see if there was any interest in my artwork. I was amazed by the reaction! Rvers and trailer buffs from all over started e-mailing to see if I had "anything else" like that. Apparently there was nothing out there even remotely like my painting ... Well, that was music to my ears! So I began working on a series of paintings of little "canned hams" and posting them on eBay and my web site (VintageTravelTrailerArt.com.) Since then my career has taken off and exceeded all expectations.

Because I have a web site, my "Vintage Travel Trailer Art" has been adopted commercially in a number of ventures. 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 milk-based watercolor.) Right now, my career is white hot! I have licensed several of my pieces as commercial Christmas cards through RV Enterprises of Montpelier, Vermont, as well as coasters (through CoasterStone Co.) and more recently, quilting fabric (Elizabeth's Studio.) But perhaps my most successful association has been with CURRENT, USA, a nation-wide catalog company. This year I am working to complete my 6th "VINTAGE TRAVELS" calendar for 2013, featuring my original artwork.

As of this date I have roughly 70 paintings of vintage travel trailers.

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:

ColorfulImages.com

** Vintage Trailer Supply of Montpelier, VT has boxed Christmas Cards and assorted Gift Items:

VintageTrailerSupply.com

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!

Paige Bridges Vintage Travel Trailer Art TX Country Reporter Show Waxahachie Airstream Trailer Art

(Photo above) I was a VIP Exhibitor at the Texas Country Reporter Festival in Waxahachie, TX in October, 2007 and 2008.

The program is still in re-runs on the RFD Channel.

HOW WE STARTED RVing ...

My husband and I became avid RVers in 1998 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 a fabulous 37-foot Montana with four slide-outs! (It featured an upstairs living room with 2 couches, a fireplace and a central vacuum system.)

October, 2005 Entry: We decided to see the southwest ... 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 classic travel trailer!

1986 Holiday Rambler Aluma Lite

1986 Holiday Rambler Aluma Lite

This year (2011) I became the proud owner of this classic 24' travel trailer. I found it on CraigsList about 2 hours from home, near Sherman, TX. It was "sheltered" for most of its years and has very minor defects..

1986 Holiday Rambler HR Aluma Lite

The day we brought her home ...

Some Interior Shots

One of the reasons I chose this particular trailer was its reputation of being well-constructed. The entire frame is aluminum and not subject to rot as so many older trailers are. It also has enough room for me to paint! I usually bring along artwork on camping trips ...

E-mail me: paige@vintagetraveltrailerart.com .