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Livermore-based artist Carolyn Lord is attracting attention statewide to an iconic gas station in the city’s downtown as the subject of paintings up for exhibition this year.
Dubbed “Day is Gone” and “Mid-Century Moonlight”, the nocturne pieces depict the Googie-style gas station located at the intersection of First and L streets.
“There is beauty everywhere,” Lord told Livermore Vine. “Oftentimes it’s the quality of light, or the color, or how an artist will interpret it that then it creates something else.”
As an architecture enthusiast, Lord said she is drawn repeatedly to the gas station because of its style.
“It just delights me, visually,” she explained.
Known for having unusual elements such as “outrageous” rooflines, Googie architecture can be seen in motels, coffee shops and gas stations, she said.
This style was created post-World War II at a time of car culture and a lack of public concern about climate change, or what she termed climate chaos, according to Lord.
The era of disregard for climate and pollution has passed, she said, drawing a parallel between the era’s end and the sun setting in “Day is Gone”.
“Let’s look for something more hopeful,” she added, suggesting a shift away from the use of fossil fuels.
“Mid-Century Moonlight”, on the other hand, is about the visual effect of color and light, she said.
It evokes a dreamy state, but is not as pointed towards environmental concerns, she added.
The colors of the “Mid-Century Moonlight” were inspired by late California artist Charles Rollo Peters.
Both pieces are 11-inch-by-14-inch oil paintings.
Currently on exhibition, “Mid-Century Moonlight” is set to be on display until Aug. 16 at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. The painting was accepted into the 2026 Salon at the Triton: 2D Art Competition & Exhibition.
“Day is Done” is scheduled for display from Aug. 6 to Sept. 18 in Laguna Beach at The Laguna Plein Air Painters Association’s Annual “From Dusk to Dawn” juried nocturne show.
