AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – One art gallery in Amarillo is sharing its pride to be part of Route 66. <\/p>\n
Bob \u201cCrocodile\u201d Lile, artist at Lile Art Gallery, says back in 1967, he met an artist named Dord Fitz.<\/p>\n
Fitz taught 14-hour classes as a circuit rider all over the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and southwest Kansas.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018You know, you need to take art.\u2019 I was a Ford dealer in Booker, Texas, and I said, \u2018Well, you need to buy a new Ford,\u2019\u201d said Lile. \u201cSo he did and then I visited his art classes and started taking art. <\/p>\n
In the spring of 1968 in Spearman, Lile says he fell in love with art. <\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew I had any talent and finally developed a little bit, but he was an amazing art teacher. He said, \u2018You need to go to New York with us this spring,\u2019\u201d said Lile. <\/p>\n
On the group trip to New York, Lile says he met with artists like Elaine De Koonig, Louise Nevelson and Robert Dash. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just fell in love with the art scene, so I built an 18×24 foot gallery on the side of my home in Booker and made an art gallery studio out of it,\u201d said Lile. \u201cA place for me to work and a place to have art shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lile moved to Amarillo about 15 years ago. He was at the Sunset Center for nearly three years before he found a place on 6th Street. <\/p>\n
\u201cI drove limousines and party buses for nearly four years just to pay the rent until I came up with the Cadillac jewelry,\u201d said Lile. <\/p>\n
In 1995, he was a member of the Harley Owens Group. Harley came out with a deal to do a 17-day tour from Chicago to Santa Monica.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my wife Cheryl, \u2018I want to do that.\u2019 So we did,\u201d said Lile.<\/p>\n
Through the trip, they fell in love with Route 66 and joined the Texas Association. They attended the first international festival in Landrigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust fell in love with the whole deal, and so we\u2019ve been doing it ever since,\u201d said Lile. <\/p>\n
Lile says he remembers visiting Amarillo when he was a kid. They\u2019d come down and gaze at the neon along the Amarillo Boulevard. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to get those neon signs working so people can go down the boulevard and see that, but we don\u2019t have any neon here on 6th Street,\u201d said Lile. \u201cBut we got a lot of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lile says there are about 13 blocks of historic Route 66 in the San Jacinto district that so many travelers miss out on. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can spend 10 or 15 minutes, come down and I\u2019ll share with you, \u2018Hey, go out here and see these people west of here\u2019 or if you\u2019re going east, I\u2019ll share my friends east of here,\u201d said Lile. \u201cBecause we got people up and down the road that are amazing and will help you and teach you and share info with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lile Art Gallery is located at 2719 S.W. 6th Ave. <\/p>\n
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