Bob Waldmire

Greetings from Downtown Springfield!

itinerant66artist — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:32:00 +0000

We’re downtown at the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in Springfield, IL.

We have Bob’s van (usually in the Pontiac IL Route 66 Museum) and Bob’s mustang with a small tent of many of Bob’s original artwork for display and prints for sale.

Stop by and say hi! We’re just north of the old capital building.

Pictured below is Buz Waldmire (Bob’s brother) with the stand and van.

Interactive Rt. 66 Postcard Map!

itinerant66artist — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:40:53 +0000

I always thought it would be neat to see Bob’s postcards on an interactive map of the US, so you could see *exactly* where on Route 66 these amazing landmarks are located.

After a bit of techno-research and a fair amount of fiddling, I have something that (mostly?) works. I hope you enjoy. Click the image below to go directly to the “Route 66 Postcard Map” page:

If you’d like to purchase any of the postcards, there is a link will take you directly to the online store page for that postcard.

Enjoy!

-Eddie W.

Pontiac Main St. Mural

itinerant66artist — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:10:10 +0000

A new mural featuring Bob will be painted during Pontiac Illinois’ Red Carpet Corridor celebration on Mother’s Day weekend: May 6-8, 2011.

A slightly modified version of Bob’s original design will be used: the change is the inclusion of a portrait of Bob painting. The original design for the mural is below:

The following sites have great coverage and details of the event for those that are interesting in participating or learning more:

http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/help-paint-bob-waldmires-mural/
http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/features/x1371483069/Mural-design-picked

IL Rt 66 Motor Tour License Plate Honors Bob

itinerant66artist — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 17:57:25 +0000

We’re a little late on getting the news on this site, but the Route 66 Association of Illinois decided to commemorate Bob Waldmire on their 2011 Motor Tour license plates.

Details for obtaining plates are available on the Route 66 Association of Illinois page below:

http://www.il66assoc.org/content/2011-motor-tour-license-plate

New Site!

itinerant66artist — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:44:02 +0000

Hello everyone – I’m working on a site redesign for ‘Uncle Bob’, so there won’t be much here for a little bit. The store is online, so please take a moment to check out Bob’s amazing artwork! -Eddie Waldmire

Bob’s last Ride

itinerant66artist — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:00:52 +0000

Three days ago on a beautiful Sunday afternoon we buried part of Bob’s ashes next to his mother and father (the rest go to Route 66 and his home in AZ as he wished). It was obviously a sad moment, but one mixed with many happy memories and feelings of love for our lost family member. Dave Bakke from the Springfield State Journal-Register wrote a nice story about it here:

http://www.sj-r.com/carousel/x43863659/Dave-Bakke-Bob-Waldmire-takes-one-last-ride

Art Store is Online!

itinerant66artist — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:00:09 +0000

The online store is officially ready for orders! Click the “store” button above to browse the catalog and place your order! Since the last update we’ve added color postcards and color 8.5×11″ prints. State and color posters, stickers, and other … Continue reading →

Art Store is Coming

itinerant66artist — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:00:05 +0000

I’m very happy to announce that the Bob Waldmire Art Store is almost ready! My uncle Bob and I talked on and off for at least 5 years regarding plans to make a website to promote (and eventually sell) his artwork online. I still have (many!) folders of letters and mock-ups that Bob had made with his ideas for the website. It saddens me that we didn’t get around to this while he was around, but I’m very happy to soon be making this available to you – I know he’d be very proud of this store.

At this point we’ve scanned, cropped, and uploaded almost ALL of Bob’s black and white postcards and a few other items to get the store started (maps, stickers, and color postcards will be coming as fast as we can scan/upload them!). We’re just waiting to complete the verification of our PayPal account (who will be doing our Credit/Debit card processing). Once that is ready I’ll remove the “coming soon” from the menu above and the store will be available for orders!

-Eddie Waldmire

Annie Wildbear Cool Springs Mural (designed by Bob)

itinerant66artist — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 17:00:14 +0000

Annie Wildbear e-mailed me to share:

Hi,

Annie Wildbear here with an important announcement. It’s kind of like a birth announcement and what more appropriate time for that then Easter Sunday!

Here it is. The tribute mural to commemorate Route 66′s own, beloved ROBERT WALDMIRE!

As many of you may already know, Ned Leuchtner is the owner of Cool Springs. He Like Bob was, is deeply passionate about the history and preservation of the “Mother Road”. Ned told me that the process began quite a while ago when he and Bob formed a special bond through their shared dedication. Ned also owns another (former) gas station along the route. This station is located on Route 66 (12888 Oatman Hwy.) in Topock/Golden Shores, AZ. It was a 1970s gas station and Ned restored it to look like a Phillips 66. Together they came up with the idea to paint a mural on one of the exterior walls of the station. It was Bob’s way of continuing his mission to enhance his beloved road. When Bob realized he would be too ill to paint the actual mural from his concept, he told Ned that he would have to find another artist to commission to do the job.

That’s where I came in. As chance would have it, Ned and I met. I found out about his interest in the project and the rest, as they say, is history (in the making).

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet Bob myself. Because of this, I had to do what ever I could to learn more about this iconic character of Route 66. I scoured the internet to absorb and immerse myself in as much information as I could about Bob. My husband and I even purchased a set of his postcards from eBay so I could get as close as I could to recreating Bob’s distinctive drawing and lettering style. The concept drawing was an excellent guide, but it was just a guide. I wasn’t there, but judging from the dates Bob wrote on the drawing and knowing the date he died, he probably wasn’t up to his usual when it came to the added details. There were still a lot of blanks and the concept wasn’t to scale. I had to try to figure out, based on the information I gathered about Bob and his style, how he would have completed it.

I wasn’t ready to start painting yet. First the wall had to be prepped. The existing paint was faded and flaking. If I painted the mural directly on top of this old painted surface the mural would have immediately just flaked off with the old paint. We then had to go about the process of removing all of the old paint and repainting with a fresh coat. How was I going to get up there? On a scaffold, of course! That took a little getting used to at first. I had to not look down and overcome any fear of heights. I worked in intense heat, freezing cold, driving wind and on one of the roughest stucco surfaces you can imagine. Painting on that stucco took about five times as long as painting on a smooth surface like drywall.

If you’re on the road, driving through Topock, please stop and take a look. It’s an excellent photo op and just in time for The Route 66 Fun Run.

I felt like Bob was guiding me through every step of the way.I only hope I did him proud!

Annie Wildbear will be participating and doing a live painting at the first “Art Walk on Main” in Uptown Lake Havasu City, AZ on April 10th, 2010 from 5pm to 8pm at Scoops Ice Cream Parlor. Come by and say hi!

For more details and pics visit Annie’s blog:
http://route66kulturekloset.com/