Artist Neil Hannum isn’t inspired by waterfalls or sunsets. Instead, he likes old pickup trucks, especially ones with a bit of rust or a busted headlight.
He shoots a photograph of the vehicle, paints a watercolor of it, and mounts it on a road sign or scraps of 
metal he picks up along the roadside. He also gets a lot of inspiration from what he sees along Route 66, reports Flagstaff Live!
“I feel my work captures a glimpse of the great American dream in a gradual state of decay,” Hannum says. “I have found and taken a special interest in the beauty and poetry of these objects which others have discarded and consider useless junk.” […]
Hannum’s paintings appear so realistic, he says, people tend to mistake them for photographs rather than paintings. Naturally, his fan base includes people as adamant about trucks and the American Southwest as Hannum is himself. Also, people seeking the perfect gift for the truck lovers in their own lives often turn to him for both the realism and the majesty of the trucks he paints. […]
All of Hannum’s art work focuses only on trucks, specifically older modeled vehicles manufactured before 1960. As Hannum grew up, his father carted the family around in a 1953 Chevy truck. Rides to friends houses, doctor appointments and school inside this truck soon sparked a love and passion for every older truck Hannum set his eyes on as he entered adulthood.
Much of Hannum’s current work, inspired by a stretch of Route 66 between Flagstaff and Gallup, N.M., will be on display at the Will McNabb Fine Jewelry Studio at 18 N. Leroux St. in Flagstaff through August.
You also can see Hannum’s work at his blog here.