This is Merrill. Merrill is the proud owner of a 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.

I met Merrill one afternoon after picking up some dry cleaning on Hwy. 101 in Encinitas. As I walked out of the dry cleaners, I immediately noticed his car–totally immaculate. Merrill had a tabletop set up with some information about the car and the restoration process. I was taken aback not only by the restoration process, but also the deep burgundy and gold paint.

As I further took stock of the car, I noticed that Merrill was dressed in an outfit with the exact same color combination as the car. Merrill wore a burgundy button-down shirt, gold tie, burgundy pants, gold shoes. As I walked toward my car, I thought Merrill and his car would make phenomenal subjects for a series of pictures. I turned around and introduced myself to Merrill. I told him that I *had* to do a portrait of him and his car. Merrill was gracious enough to agree, we shook hands and gave me his card as I left.

Merrill’s card has his name, address and phone number. At the bottom, it reads “Provacateur to the Graphically Inquisitive”. I still haven’t figured out what this means, but as you can see, Merrill and his car are one of a kind.