Studio Sessions...


Three for one. This is all I have managed to paint for the last week. Each one is 8 x 24 inches. I started two others but they are going no where. Last night I gessoed over 7 paintings. I had been looking at them for weeks and finally decided they were not up to snuff. (gesso is a white primer used to prime a canvas before painting)

The gallery has been sucking the life out of me lately. Huge crowds of people and not a one of them interested in art. I like to refer to it as a cattle call. Mooooo!

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For the last couple of days David and Donny have been over working in my studio. It has some great natural light. The view isn't bad either. You can't see it here but it is.

David is working on a commission seen here. Donny is conceptualizing a large mural project for a coffee shop in Portland. He has been working on it for almost a year now.

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This is the first time in years I have had other artists to work with and share ideas. It helps so much to bounce ideas off one another.



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Mr. Man caught me saying "Butt head" this week. Now he is running around, "Hey Butt head"
Aren't kids a hoot?

Gallery Talk...It's In The Attitude.

Today in the gallery kids, we are going to learn about attitude. I try very hard to be pleasant at all times. It is after all, the public that pays my bills. Sometimes I slip. Sometimes a persons ignorance and unwavering stubbornness just push me too far.

A lady with her nose so out of joint she would drown in a heavy rain, comes into the gallery. You could see her bad attitude coming before she ever opened her mouth. Like always, people like this HAVE to open their mouths.

After being in the gallery for less than 15 seconds she bellowed from across the room at me.

Lady: So...What are these?

Me: To which what, are you referring to?

Lady: All of it. Are they oils, acrylic, jicklies, what?

Me: Well, we have oils, acrylics, limited editions. It's pronounced giclee. (zhee-clay)

Lady: So they're jicklies. (she sighs to her friends and mutters. Nobody sells quality any more.

Me: To which works are you referring? Not all limited edition are giclees. Giclee is just one of many forms of printing fine art.

Lady: I can totally tell the difference between a jicklie and a print. It's obvious.

Her attitude is getting worse as we speak. I can tell that she looks at me and sees, shop flunky who knows nothing.

Me: Wow, that's a gift. Where did you study art?

Lady: I didn't.

Me: You have owned your own gallery or worked in the art field?

Lady: No.

Me: You know people who work in the art or printing fields?

Lady: No.

Me: I have spent the last 27 years studying art, fine art, painting, printmaking, art history, graphic design, interior design, architecture, photography. I have traveled all over the world to study and learn about art. I still have a hard time telling what some things are just from a quick glance in a gallery. What is your secret? How do you know so much about it?

Lady: My son has taken art classes.

Me: Really, that''s great. Where at?

Lady: Po Dunk High School in Idaho. (the name was changed to protect the school)

Me:??????? I'm sorry, where?

Lady: Po Dunk High School in Idaho.

Me:??????? (this was more than I could take. I have now become gallery bastard snob from hell. It's all in the tone.) Let me see if I understand. I have spent all of my adult life and then some, traveling and studying art. I have run multi million dollar galleries across the country, as well as owned my own galleries. Not to mention I have worked in the printing industry. And you are trying to tell me that because your son has taken a few art classes in high school, that you know more about this than I do? Did I hear that right?

Lady: (to her friends) I told you the people in this town are snobs.


It was at this point I think I may have blacked out for a moment. All I could see was me beating this bone head within an inch of her life and then pushing her into traffic.

I am pretty sure I didn't say another word to her but it is entirely possible that I told a variety of ways to F off.

Why are people so eager to show their ignorance and at the same time be totally unwilling to admit that they DO NOT know everything about everything.

Even with my background, I would never presume that I know everything there is to know about art. When I go to galleries, I still ask questions and listen to what they have to say.

This was as close as I have come to homicide in quite some time. Sorry to tell you all. This woman is still loose in the world. Not only that, she's a breeder. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Poof...Gone...


How often do people disappear?

Have you noticed it? One day they're there, the next day they're gone. Sometimes I wonder if they were really there to begin with. I don't have the best memory in the world. Did I imagine these people?

Many times it has been my fault. I have a problem letting people get close to me. I move more often than most. It can be hard to get to know someone anyway. Always being the new kid make you build walls. It is easier that way. When I leave, I usually don't even have to say goodbye, so I don't. One day I"m just gone.

Lately I have been thinking about the others like me. Where did they go? Do they think about me and wonder?

Over the years I have met some wonderful people the I will never forget. I wish at times that I had tried to keep in touch with them. I didn't. I didn't try. One day I was just gone.

I know I'm not the only one like me. I have know many others who simply disappeared one day. Without a word. Without a trace. Life is so short and so fast most of the time. I have learned to let go more easily than most. Is it society that has made people...disposable? For lack of a better word.

Blogging has made me think about it much more than I used to. I notice it more now. A person that you meet on your site will leave comments or emails. You respond. It's like you know one another. Then one day the emails and the comments stop.

If they are a blogger themselves you can always check on them. Visit their site. Sometimes the site is gone. I wonder what happened to them. Why they stopped blogging. When I moved, I packed my things and physically left the place I was. In blogging it doesn't matter where you are. Did they not like it? Was it one of us that drove them away? Was it something we said?
Maybe they took it personally.

I used to take it personally when someone would disappear. People I thought were my friends, but I guess were just acquaintances. Sometimes I think about trying to find a few of them. This has been heavy on my mind since Shelly's sister contacted me. Shelly was like me. One day she was gone and no one knew why or where or what happened.

Of all of the people I have know that disappeared on me. I wonder if any of them died. There are 15 of you that I know have died. Is that why the others are gone, or did they just go somewhere else to start over? How many of them think I died?

With blogging it is never really that personal. It's not like I actually know any of you. I have met a few of you, once. Several of you that used to visit don't any more. Your gone from my blog but I know you're still out there. I can see you. Was it me? No, really?

A few of you stopped blogging. Just gone one day. You are the ones I wonder about the most.

There are about two dozen people I have know in real life that I think about on a regular basis. Almost daily. I knew some of them for years. Some were very close for the time we were together. I moved, they moved, and it's over. Gone.

With six billion people on the planet, it is things like this that make me feel very alone. At any minute one or all of you could be gone. So could I.

Will I ever stop thinking about them? I most likely wont run into them on the street one day. Is it worth digging through the past to find them? Do I need that closure? Probably not, but a few of you left a lasting impression on my heart, mind and soul. It is you in part that has inspired my latest series of works. They are all about "Isolation". Each lonely beach is one of you. One of us. Me.

Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function?

Today in the gallery children we are going to learn about sculpture.

First, and this may be just me, but I don't think so, we do not call sculptures, "statues".
This drives me mad. There is a difference. I will explain it to you later.

Here is my favorite conversation from earlier today.

Lady: I love these prints. I might even be able to talk my husband into these. But tell me about these statues.
(she gets a small break for knowing they were prints)

Me: (trying not to sound snobbish) We like to call them sculptures, they're made of bronze. The artist is from Santa Barbara...

Lady: No, that doesn't matter. I mean, tell what they're for.

Me: What they're for?

Lady: Ya, you know...I get the prints. They will go with my furniture and walls and things, but a statue just stands there collecting dust. What's it's function?

Me: It's function?

Lady: There is no way I could talk my husband into a statue. It's cute and all but it just stands there. Where do people put them? What do they do with something like that?

Me: (my mind is struggling with the concept that she sees art as something that needs to be functional) People do the same thing with a sculpture that they do with prints and paintings. It's aesthetic. They add to the richness of your life and home. Art in three dimensions.

Lady: Dust collectors if you ask me. Cute though...

Where Have All The Fact Checkers Gone?

Have you seen the headline yet?

Warhol painting sells for record $71 Mil!



If only it were true. Yes, a Warhol work did sell for $71 million. However, it was not a painting, it was a print!

I know, this may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. It's this kind of half assed reporting that perpetuates the stupidity of the general public.

I have spent a huge portion of the last 20 years trying to educate people about fine art. One of the most misunderstood things I have ever come across are prints. A print can be quite valuable, but they are not unique works. Prints are almost always done in multiples. That's where people get confused. They seem to think that because there is more than one printed, that they are not ever going to be worth anything.

I hear it all the time, "We only buy originals." Or, "We only buy paintings."

Well thank you very much to the Associated Press. You Fugged it up!

The Warhol work in question, "Green car crash" that was screen printed on a green background. How hard is it to check your facts? You called it a painting about a dozen times. You did however get right in the caption under the photo where you called it a silkscreen. A silkscreen by definition is a print. Not a painting.

It's no wonder so many people are totally confused about art when the major news companies can't get it right. They trust you clowns to be accurate.

I don't think anyone knows exactly how many of these car crash images were even printed. Possibly hundreds. It is not even close to being a "painting".

It was fantastic that some person with way too much money spent $71 mil on this work. It's good for the art world. It's good for the economy in general. But the next time some John Q Public, that has read this story, comes into my gallery and tells me that prints are crap, only paintings are valuable. I can't even tell him about this sale because they will never believe me over the "News".

Even though I'm right.


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Before you email me about typos, Don't. This post is about the facts not the typos. Typos have nothing to do with fact checking, they are more in lines of editing. For what it's worth, I have neither.

Barry Bonds...You're Not Worthy

Barry only has about 11 more home runs to go to break the all time Home Run record.

Personally I hate to think that he will be the one do it. Not because I don't want the record to be broken. All records will fall someday. Not because he took illegal drugs for years. Steroids didn't make it easier to hit a base ball.

I don't want Barry to break the record because, Barry is a pig of a human being!

Sadly he is a shoe in for the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose wagered a few dollars and it cost him his career and barred him from his rightful place in the Hall. Is what Pete did that much worse than taking illegal drugs? Hell no!

But this isn't about Pete. It's about Barry.

I call upon all major league teams, opposing pitchers, coaches, managers, owners. I beg of you!

STOP PITCHING TO BARRY!

It's that simple. This man should not be allowed to break one of the greatest records in all of sports. Every time Barry comes to the plate, he should be intentionally walked. Never give him a pitch he can get the bat on. EVER!

I seriously doubt it would ever change the outcome of a game if Barry were to be walked.

Barry is the worst example of a professional athlete. A liar. A cheater. A lousy role model for kids who look up to athletes. He's rude, self centered, egotistical...and totally unworthy of the Home Run record.

For everyone who ever played. For the love of the game. For the integrity of the game.

WALK Barry!

Genius...Thinker...That's Right...Me Baby!

The lovely and talented Heather Anne has been kind enough to nominate, moi, for a highly coveted "Thinking Blog Award". (rules for the awards can be found here)

I'm at a loss for an articulate thought, let alone words. I can't begin to thank Heather enough.

Now I have the honor of selecting five other blogs that make me think. Oh, the pressure!
Sorry Heather and Scott, you have been tagged already or you would have been on my list for sure.

So, for my list of thinkers, I give you:

1) Romy, of "Incidents and Accidents". It was this site that inspired the title of my blog. I'm a big fan of her writing.

2) Dave, of "Blogography". Where do I begin. He's great.

3) Andre Jordon, of "A Beautiful Revolution". Andre has a complex, simplicity that makes his art very appealing.

4) Pumpkin, of "From My French Window". Like me, she wants to be French. I love to read of her tales about adjusting. She takes some great photos also.

5) Gillian, of "Confessions Of A Young Woman". For someone barely in her 20's she seems to have a good grasp of the world. A great writer and better photographer. She has a bright future.


There you have it. The blogs that make me think...You win a button! Congrats!

The Dingbats Are Out In Force...

I am going to have to start a new series for the quotes/questions of the day.

Todays question brought to you by Bellevue Mental Hospital, which has apparently opened their doors and said, "Who wants to go to Cannon Beach today?"

Everyone must have said Yes.


Here it is...


"Wow these are fantastic. Were they really done by Dr. Seuss?"

"Yes they were. He did some remarkable work that was just for him...blah blah blah..."

"So it was THE Dr. Seuss? The same Seuss that wrote the books?"

"The very same Seuss. He was a painter in his spare time. Just what he did for fun."

"That's amazing. So did you paint these?


/A long silence with a blank stare..."Excuse me?"

"The Dr. Seuss works, did you paint them?"

/Still staring at her in disbelief. "No, Dr. Seuss painted them."

"So he was a real person?"

/Still staring, only now my mouth is hanging open, wishing I could shoot lighting from my eyes.

I would now like to thank the tele-marketer who called and ended this conversation. I never thought I would say that in a million years.


I don't expect people to all be geniuses, but come on.


The Dragon Of Grindly Grun...

I'm the Dragon of Grindly Grun,
I breathe fire as hot as the sun.
When a knight comes to fight
I just toast him on sight,
Like a hot crispy cinnamon bun.

When I see a fair damsel go by,
I just sigh a fiery sigh,
And she's baked like a 'tater-
I think of her later
With a romantic tear in my eye.

I'm the Dragon of Grindly Grun,
But my lunches aren't very much fun,
For I like my damsels medium rare,
And they always come out well done.

by

Shel Silverstein


This is one of my all time favorite poems.

Spring Unveiling...Part Three


What an unbelievably long weekend. Frank Gonzales spent a couple of days painting three works for us. People love to come in, watch and ask questions. Frank was great with all of it.
He made his paintings seem way too easy. Take it from me, they're not. That is where the talent and skill come in. Frank has plenty of both. It was great to have him in the gallery.

Everyone else had a great time also. Plenty of laughs, food and drink. Too much drink.

Business was slower than we had hoped. It could have been my attitude. I don't like doing these kind of events. Maybe it could have been better with a different mind set.

Saturday night we had a couple other gallery owners, artists and friends over to our house after hours. I love to hang around artists. They are seldom dull and they see things quite different than most. Everything is a potential art project or idea for a project.

Sunday morning Precious was up early baking. We had a brunch reception at the gallery. She did a fantastic job. I ate way too many cream puffs.

Our partners are still involved just enough to be a real pain. I wont elaborate.

This coming week we have to finalize what we're going to do with the gallery. Either we sign on for a year and half on the gallery and two years on our house or we pack up the house, move for the next five months and close the gallery in September. It has gotten kind of nuts with the two leases. They don't end at the same time which is causing a problem. We are still torn. Do we stay here or move to San Francisco. Maybe go somewhere else. Work for ourselves, or work for someone else. Quality or quantity. This or that. Then or now. Click or clack. I thought we had this all figured out a month ago. Landlords can be fickle. Why do most things alway come down to money? I hate that.

Spring Unveiling...Part Two

The city of Cannon Beach is as busy as I have seen it in the year we have been here. People are every where. Sadly, most of them are gallery leaches, but it is kind of fun to see the crowds.

This week also happens to be the gallery's one year anniversary. It was a big deal for me. I was not sure if it would make it this long. Being in a tourist dependent area is a hard road for an art gallery. The "selling season" is short. The slow season is long. It can be very tense at times.

So far this weekend has had much less business that we had hoped.

My favorite quote so far, is from a man that was speaking to Precious. He told her that he had never given art a second thought until he saw one of my paintings. She came and got me so he could meet me. He starts off be saying, "I want you to know that I really admire your work. I have just fallen in love with this painting right here. Not enough to buy it but its really nice."

He caught me off guard. I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "I love it but not enough..."
I just said thanks, enjoy your visit.

I was thinking to myself that I should tell him just how much that means to me. Come the first of the month I will go to my landlord and tell him how much you love my work, but not enough. So, because I really like the land lord I'm not going to pay rent because even though I like him, it's not enough.

I'm sure the man meant it to be a compliment, and it is very nice to hear that your work has moved someone.

It sure beats the comment I just got a little while ago.

"Who does these Seascapes?"

"Why, I do. Can I tell you about them or answer questions?" I ask.

"I hate Seascapes!"

"
Thank you for sharing that"

I just turned and walked away. She was still muttering to herself about how much she hated them.

Oh, people are so funny!

Spring Unveiling...Part One

This week is a busy time for us.

It is the 7th annual "Spring Unveiling" Art Festival. 15 galleries here in Cannon Beach will all be having events over the weekend, starting today.

We are having Frank Gonzales in the gallery. We fly he and his wife in for 4 days. They are staying with us. We have been trying to get ready for the last several days. Buying wine, food. Sending invites and visuals of art. Hanging and re-hanging the gallery to get everything just right.

"Sharp No.7" by Gonzales

All of the galleries have their own unveiling's. Each is scheduled for a different time so we don't overlap. This allows for each gallery to get maximum exposure. We are unveiling Frank at 3:30 on Saturday the 5th, with a reception at 6:00.

We have all of his work up already so I am going to unveil Frank himself. He doesn't know this yet. I am going to set him in the front corner window with a sheet over he and an easel. I will make a few opening comments and then, pull the sheet off. TaDa! At least I'll get a kick out it.

The "Cat in the Hat" is going to be at our gallery all weekend as well. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the "Cat in the Hat" and the "Grinch". Very cool.

On Sunday at 11:30 we will be having a Brunch reception. Mimosas, a few bite sized brunch things. There will be much drinking this weekend. We started last night.

Shows are a huge pain in the butt. Galleries spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to prepare for a day or two of activity. Then a couple days to clean up after and then re-hang everything again. Almost always, they're a loss. The clients and gallery leaches love it. It's a cultural date full of free food and drinks. Sadly it is a necessary evil.

I will post more photos of the weekend in the next few days. Anyone in the coastal Oregon area is welcome to stop in.

Resolution...At Last

This is my new ride. It's huge! Well, compared to my car. Ok, this isn't really mine. I have it until my car is out of the shop.

A month and a half ago my car was run into. Well, I have finally gotten the lady and her insurance company to get my car fixed. I am so excited.

So for the next few days I get to drive this monster. I have been hauling things back and forth from the gallery. It is kind of fun to have it. I get tired of borrowing or renting trucks.

As fun as this is, it sucks the gas and it's a bugger to park. I can't wait to get my baby back.

The Terrible Two's...Ya Right

Who ever said the two's were terrible, never lived with a three year old.

Mr. Man recently turned three. All of the sudden he has been taken over by an unrecognizable little monster. It's like he transformed over night.

My Mother and sister had told us that we were really lucky. Mr.Man was not like most kids. He was good. I always shrugged it off. My Mother has run a day care for years. My sister teaches pre-school, kindergarten and first grade.

I am beginning to think they were not just telling me tales to make me feel better. In the last month Mr.Man has started spitting, kicking, talking back, throwing fits, screaming, you name it, he tries it. His attitude has done a 180 and not in a good way. This is not the same child we have been raising for the last three years. Our Mr. Man was a good child. I don't who this kid is.

We can be having the best time, and then, out of no where, Devil Boy!

As a parent I am on the strict side. I don't let him get away with any of this. He gets no warning before punishment. So far punishment seems to have no impact on him.

How can a three year old turn a (somewhat) rational adult into a complete simpleton? He knows exactly what buttons to push to send me over the edge, and he seems to enjoy it.

How can it be easier to have a child than to buy a dog? This world is seriously fugged up!

Life On The Line...

Chapter one I jumped into cooking on a bit of a whim. With little to no hesitation. After spending many years in the art business I was lo...