Description

This rather distorted, and comical painting was meant to be a characterization of Cruising Van Nuys boulevard once it became impossible to use the boulevard for domestic things like going store, or even leaving your house if you lived in the surrounding neighborhoods, as it was for me, having my studio and residence on Ventura Boulevard within walking distance of Van Nuys Boulevard.

For those who were not witness to Van Nuys Boulevard during its heyday, the scale of it grew until the size of it simply boggled the mind. It was only about 4 miles of an ultra-wide boulevard jammed with every conceivable kind of cool car imaginable, parading back and forth. The parking spaces that lined the street were packed with hot rods, customs, street machines, sports cars and muscle cars. Every parking space filled with kids and their cars. At it’s peak, the neighborhoods adjacent to the boulevard were bound with bumper to bumper traffic, kids circling through the neighborhoods to turn around and rejoin the cruise. By now, the cruising ritual was alive all around Southern California.

The phenomenon of cruising was unique to it’s time, not only to Van Nuys Boulevard, but, the entire Southern California area, and eventually, the rest of the country. While cruising Bob’s and Van Nuys Boulevard was only part of a much larger venue, it was the place among places, the heart of cruising. The lore of Van Nuys Boulevard became legendary with all who who love their cars, and like to cruise.