Title: Clock Street - Rez Life series
Oil on canvas
© Parsons 2025
Back in the early 1980s, not every car had a dashboard clock—especially not the ones we were driving. On Friday and Saturday nights, we’d cruise the same few streets through town, looping past the Town Pump, the Circle K, and eventually—inevitably—Glacier Electric.
The building wasn’t open after dark, but it didn’t need to be. What mattered was the big blue neon clock glowing in the window. You could check the time without getting out, just roll by slow and glance left. Some folks used it to make curfew. Others used it as an excuse to pull over for a while, park in the shadows, and let time slip away.
That El Camino parked under the clock? Just a stand-in. And any resemblance to actual vehicles or couples possibly necking therein is purely coincidental. Really.
This painting is meant to lighten the mood, especially after the heavy weight of Come Home Dad. It’s a nod to those softer, sillier moments that live side by side with the hard ones. Because even in towns where the power flickers, the memories shine pretty bright.
Comments
Very special painting and story, just about a clock, but the neon light came out very well!
Your real life nostalgia shines through Bob. Always a pleasure to see your paintings and insights.
Thank you Dirk. I have two more I’m working on in this series.
Thanks Joha! As I get older, I’m wondering how I could have let so much life slip past and I cherish memories. Good and bad. This is one of the good ones.
Thank you Helen. I wrote a book once and I really wanted to illustrate it, but I couldn’t do it properly. That book was about kids. Since then, I’m learning to paint and I discovered I can show pictures that convey more than just the story. I’m so thankful I picked up that paint brush one hot summer day 3 years ago!
Beautiful!
Love to blue glow. I can really feel this scene.
Thanks Stephie!
Thanks Tomi!
Thanks for the painting and the story
Thank you, Rebecca!
Cool painting. Needs the El Camino! My neighbor has his baby under a car cover, and I know right away when he starts it up!
As always love the description Bob! You are on a roll with these! Nice! Super work!
Thanks Jon!
Thanks Eduardo!
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Good Morning, Buddy. Another great one from your series. I really like the how you describe your experiences/ideas and I think your painting is great👍🏼🇩🇪🔪