Wendell had remembered fondly the Burma-Shave posters on the side of the road which were more visible before the advent of the various interstate highways. He got permission from the American Saftey Razor Company to use some of these slogans in his painting. He made up one print for the Prefered Risk Insurance Company or Des Moines, Iowa  featuring vintage automobiles and a Burma Shave slogan encouraging people not to drink and drive:  Car in ditch...Driver in tree...Moon was full...And so was he.

In 1981 Wendell began a series of 24 x 48 inch paintings on Masonite in which a 1920-30 vintage car was featured driving down a highway of a particular state and passing Burma Shave slogans along the way. He had hoped to do all 50 states but was only able to do five before he died: two of Kentucky (one in the bluegrass area, and another in the mountains), one of Tennessee, one of Georgia, and one of Wyoming. The one of Georgia was in Plains and showed Billy Carter driving a car. The Wyoming painting depicted in addition to the car, the Marlboro Man on horseback.  He had the painting of Kentucky bluegrass area made into prints and, after his experience with the UK NCAA Champion posters that were distributed by Wood Hannah of Framehouse Gallery,  he was hoping to market these as collectors prints under the title, "Remember When."  He developed several promotional letters including the following:

"Here is something unusual and interesting that you might like to give your husband or friends at Christmas time or other occasions.
"Remember When"
"Presents 'Collectors' Print Number 1, first in a series of 50.  One for each state of the Union.  A limited edition print.  500 numbered and signed.  Original painting 4 x 2 ft.  In full color Acrylic paints. Prints are 24 x 12 inches.
"This full color painting shows a scene near Lexington, Kentucky in the Kentucky Bluegrass country, with its beautiful horse farms and the authentic four-panel white fences.  The highway is two-lane U.S.60 also called The Midland Trail, by the side of which were once the famous Burma-Shave signs.  IN this painting I have placed the Burma-Shave signs as they once were.  The jingle on this particular painting is:  'His face was smooth/And cool as ice/And oh Louise/He smelled so nice/Burma-Shave.'  ON the highway are two famous old cars, a 1924 Model T Ford and a 1929 Duesenberg Sedan.
"Today, great interest is being shown in the things of the past.  One product which had universal appeal, was the little red-and-white Burma-Shave signs which used to do the countryside in practically every state in the Union.  Their clever verses were as well known then as Coca Cola is today.
"An original idea of mine is to make prints from the painting, to capture again that part of America which most middle-aged and older people remember and which younger Americans of today would enjoy knowing about.  In my paintings I plan to return the little red signs with their clever jingles to the well known two lane highways of America.  A limited number of prints will be made from each painting.
"I will paint an authentic scene from each state, with the number of one of its highways.  For example, in Indiana, I would paint a scene along U.S.30 the famous Lincoln Highway, on of our first trans-continental highways.  The cars of the 1920's and 1930's will be on the paintings.
"The American Safety Razor Company, Staunton, Virginia, is the owner of Burma-Shave and its trademark.  They have granted me a Special License to use the Burma-Shave trademark on my paintings.  There are over a thousand jingles and a lot of them had to do with drunk driving and highway safety.
"The first print of the Kentucky painting is now ready [1982].  Printed in full color on beautiful paper, size 24 x 12 inches suitable for framing.  Only 500 were printed signed and numbered.  Sincde this is a limited edition print the price is $25.00 including state tax.
"Quite a few of these prints have already been sold and have been well received.  I you are interested in reserving one of these prints write or call:  Walter Wendell Arnett...."

With the right kind of marketing agent, Wendell could have spent the remaining days of his life doing these state paintings, but he stayed busy enough with the biographical portrait business and other novelty paintings.

Looking for ideas to make novelty items that people might be interested in, Wendell developed the technique of inserting persons in the "missing space" on Mt. Rushmore. Most of these were given away as gifts to friends and family. Likewise, having attended the Civil War Roundtable with Leila and other friends for many years, he developed the idea of having various individuals depicted as additional riders on the sculpture on the side of Stone Mountain, outside Atlanta, GA.

A partial list of these follows along with the date if known:

During his leather era, Wendell, painted images on 8x12 inch cowhide of the emblems, state birds, and flowers of two states: Texas (for Leila) and Kentucky (for himself). Had the leather concept worked out, he might have done more states. Wendell had a love for geography and knew the birds and flowers, capitals, and famous people of most of the states. He thought that there might even be a market for his state paintings but never had the time to fully pursue that idea.

Fun with Politicians

Also during the "leather era" Wendell had some fun making panels of various politicians faces, or half faces as it turned out. On a 12x16 piece of leather glued to Masonite, he painted half of Nixon’s face and paired it with half of Humphrey’s face and called it a Hump-Nix. He did the same for several others including Humphrey and Muskie (HumpSkie), Nixon and Agnew (NixNew), and Nixon and Kissinger (NixKiss).  He had hinged doors that covered each side. It was one of his many novelty ideas that now sit in the archive room waiting to be discovered by some political junkie.

After reading some stories about the near extinction of whooping cranes, Wendell, painted several panels of whooping cranes and at one time thought the Postal Service might be interested in making stamps out of his paintings. Currently these panels hang in our second floor hallway.

After doing the Secretariat painting, Wendell tried his hand at other horses and painted a quarter horses, "Sam Lasan," and an Appaloosa named "Sonny Boy’s Real Man," which he again thought might be of interest to some collector. Many of his paintings were done for these elusive "collectors," and had he had a good marketing agent, might have been commissioned to do even more paintings. He did create a brochure for these horse paintings which included a photo of himself and the horses he’d painted. The copy on the brochure reads as follows:

"I’m sure you have horses you are proud of and would like to have something interesting that you can keep permanently as a reminder of them. I would like very much to make some paintings of your horses.

"On the opposite page are two paintings of a Quarter Horse I did recently for a Dallas, TX man. The photo at the top is done on the best illustration board in HYPLAR BRILLANT PERMANENT COLORS. The picture in the middle is of the same horse painted on Top Grain Cowhide.

"The photo at the bottom is of a painting of an APPALOOSA Horse belonging to another Texas man. It is painted on Top Grain Cowhide. After all horses and cattle go together.

"All I need to work from are good "8x10" of the horse and a description of his coloring. I will eliminate as much of the background as possible so as to leave the horse the center of interest. I think this makes for a better painting.

"The size of these paintings is 30"x 22"; however they can be made smaller or larger as you prefer.

"If you are interested in having a permanent painting of the horse you love, why not let me hear from you.?

"Sincerely, Walter Wendell Arnett"

Wendell enjoyed painting with acrylic on Masonite board and did two 3x5 foot replicas of Vogue magazine covers which for many years graced the ladies restroom at his church (Crescent Hill Baptist). On one of these he painted the face to represent the legendary Baptist missionary to China, Lottie Moon. Thus the restroom was often referred to as "Lottie’s Potty."

Another panel (24 x 48 inch) he did was painted entirely black except for two "openings" on either side, one representing the entrance to a railroad tunnel and the other the exit. In the "entrance" he painted an old steam locomotive coming in and in the "exit" he painted the red caboose leaving. He titled the painting "Hope – Light at the End of the Tunnel." On the lower left corner of the painting he printed the following inscription:  Inside the Big Bend Tunnel of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad made famous by the song, "John Henry was a steel driving man."

On occasions when Wendell was giving a talk at one of the church banquets, Wendell, would show a completely white canvas and describe it as a painting of the Children of Israel crossing over the Red Sea.  As he described it, "The Israelites had already passed through, the Egyptians have not arrived yet, and the waters are parted!  Thus the blank canvas!"

Featured in the slide show are some paintings he did of Bull Durham Chewing Tobacco which reminded him of his days in Salyersville and selling chewing tobacco in his dad's store.  Wendell never chewed tobacco or even smoked cigarettes for that matter.  When he was working in the "Pilot House" in the backyard of the house on Carlisle/Crestmore he smoked cigars when working on his Marty Lynn strip and other free lance work of that period.  When they moved to Hillcrest and his work site was in the basement, he had to give up the cigars.  

He also painted various objects such as a Log Cabin syrup container and a bottle of ketchup.  He used to collect the old Log Cabin syrup containers made in the shape of a cabin, and attached wheels to the bottoms of the containers making a train.

As a child growing up in Salyersville, Wendell and others often made their own toys, and this fun carried over into his adulthood when he made the Spin-o-Prop. This interest may have developed out his love for airplanes and the old biplanes he’d seen growing up. He took part of an old mop or broom handle, and attached a wooden spool to one end with a nail. Then he inserted two smaller nails in the end of the spool onto which an aluminum propeller blade would be affixed. Then having wound string around the spool of thread, a strong pull on the string would send the propeller flying into the air. This had to be done outside and clear of other people. Once in 1983 when demonstrating this toy to people assembled in the frontier theater at the Founders Day Celebration at Salyersville, one of the flying propellers nearly hit one of the attendees. Now a days these propellers would be made of plastic and often designed to look like helicopters.

One of Wendell’s childhood or young adult dreams had been to trace the Lewis and Clark expedition as far as possible in an airboat. Though he never got so far as even acquiring an airboat or taking a ride in one, he collected many articles and designed ways to advertise on the rudders (much like NASCAR) so that the venture could be financed. He enjoyed the history of the Old West and the stories associated. In July 1990 he, Leila, and many of their friends were able to take a Shockey bus tour to the Northwest, visiting Banff, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, and other western states. They thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Novelties and Collections Slide Show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59496800@N04/sets/72157632563893720/show/