House Portrait of Home in Arcadia, Oklahoma for Gift

This 9″x 17″ custom watercolor house portrait of a home in Arcadia, Oklahoma was especially interesting and an honor to create. Located on a stretch of East Old Highway 66, this home belongs to a friend I had the pleasure of working with almost 40 years ago when she and I were staff illustrators for a national company, Shellee Graham, and her husband, Jim Ross. Shellee commissioned the artwork as a gift for Jim because of his involvement in the creation of the home. Inspired by a 1930s-era brick Phillips 66 cottage-style service station in nearby Chandler, Oklahoma, Jim created all the drawings and blueprints for the design. Details like a tapered chimney, steep pitched gable over the front door, and an Oklahoma Route 66 shield encircled by bricks, were all incorporated into the home. And just to the left is a 1950s-era gas pump with a Phillips 66 glass globe on top that still lights up at night. Shellee says sometimes people ask if they can fill up at the pump! 

Both Shellee and Jim are dedicated advocates and preservationists for this highway. This stretch of road carried original Route 66 traffic from 1926-1952, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. They both designed and installed the National Register signs in April of 2021. I hope this house portrait is a reminder of just how special their home on historic Old Highway 66 is!