This Week In The Studio...

"Violet Sky" 12 x 16 inch oil on canvas

"Deep Blue" 12 x 16 inch oil on canvas

"Dans La Nuit" (Into Night) 16 x 20 inch each, oil on canvas

"Untitled" 8 x 24 inch each, oil on canvas


I'm having a great time painting these seascapes. Very relaxing. They have been getting a lot of positive feedback and attention in the gallery. We have sold seven of them in the last month. Not bad considering I really don't go out of my way to sell them.

I have been getting asked about the "Quick Draw" event already. It will be the first week of November.

Last year it was a bit nerve-racking and took me more than a month of preparation. For what we got out of it in traffic and sales, I can't really say it was worth it.

In fairness, I'm a complete unknown around here. This area is very fond of their local artists and are often offended by those of us that have come from other locations. It's even worse that we don't represent any local artists in our gallery. Snobs.

This year I know that at least five of the local favorites will not be participating. I think I will wait for a while to see how it's going to play out.

I already know I can paint one of the seascapes within the time frame of the event. We'll see.


Perspective...





Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky and is more than 1000 light years away.


This is a Hubble telescope ultra deep field infrared view of countless "entire" galaxies billions of light years away.

This is a close up of one of the darkest regions of the photo above.

Hood To The Coast...

This is the course for the Hood to the Coast relay. 195 miles, day and night. The thought alone makes me tired. It's for a good cause but I would rather write a check and watch than participate.

This is Precious and Mr. Man. He and I are on our own for the weekend while Precious is participating in the Hood to the Coast relay. I am so proud of her. She has been training for months now. Getting up at 7am to go run while I slept.

Last night as it started to get dark Mr. Man began to ask where Mom was.
"When Mommy coming home Daddy?".

"She'll be home tomorrow." I would tell him.

He slid down in the chair and said, "That makes me sad daddy. I want Mommy home."

In the middle of the night he woke up asking if Mommy was home yet. As well as the first thing this morning. "Daddy, is Mommy home yet?"

"Not yet Mr., later today she will be home."

"That makes me sad Daddy."

"Me too buddy. But, it's only two days and for a good cause. Besides, you have a very cool Mom."

Good luck Baby!

I Paint Young Man...

One of the true joys of working in the art business is getting to meet artists. Most of them are wonderful people.

Over the years I have come to recognize artists fairly quickly when they come in. You can almost always spot them. Not all of them, just the ones that have never sold any of their work. The ones that think an occasional weekend arts and craft fair is "The big time". The ones that have taken an art class at a local community center. These people stick out.

They are the only ones that ask and say things like:

Do you have water colors? I only like water colors.

I'm looking for a charcoal.
Any thing specific. Figurative, landscape...?
No. I just want to look at charcoals.

How do you decide how to price your work? How much does the artist get out of that amount?
What do you pay for the frames?

Where do you have the gickles made? Do you make them yourself?


All of which brings me to a lady I met this morning. Her face could have curdled milk from across the room.

I could tell before she spoke, what she was about to ask and how the conversation was going to go.


Lady: So, what are these? Gilsays, no doubt?

Me: To which of "these" are you referring? And It's pronounced, giclee (Zhee-clay).
(alright, I may have taken a tone with her)

Lady: Any of them. These all look like gilsays. I can tell.

Me: Actually the one right in from of you as well as the one beside it are oil paintings. The price is usually a give away.

Lady: Those are not oils young man. (wait for it...here it comes) I paint. You can't paint that smooth. That's a print.

Me: Actually, you can paint that smooth if you know what your doing. That, and I would never be able to sell a print by this artist for $23,000.00. An oil yes. And we do.

Lady: Have you ever tried to paint young man? Paint leaves a texture. I think you should spend a little more time learning about the things you are selling.

At this point, several things went through my mind. I could tell her to get bent. I could explain to her that I have multiple advanced degrees in art. That this was in fact my gallery blah blah blah...

Instead, what came out was a very loud belly laugh. I just couldn't hold it or help it. She was just too funny. Her unwavering arrogance was more than I could take. The look on her face when I laughed at her, was priceless. I turned and went back to what I was doing and she huffed off.

And I have only been open for an hour. It's going to be one of those days.


Saving The World...One Child At A Time.

Let me start by stating that I am all for children (under 18) having certain rights. We want them to grow up and be responsible human beings, so we should give them the tools and responsibility they need.

There is one right however that I strongly disagree with. That is a child's right to privacy. Sure they should be able to have a little personal time at home, but a parents right to know where their child is should out weigh any right of the child.

We seem to have forgotten that they are children. Not adults. Not capable of caring for them selves. Not capable of making adult decisions. Still in need of adult supervision.

According to the National Criminal Information Center, 800,000 children a years go missing.

The first National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART-1) was released in 1990, and the second, known as NISMART-2, was released in October 2002. According to NISMART-2 research, which studied the year 1999, an estimated 797,500 children were reported missing; 58,200 children were abducted by nonfamily members; 115 children were the victims of the most serious, long-term nonfamily abductions called “stereotypical kidnappings”; and 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.


Here is how you put an end to this. Once and for all. No child will ever go missing ever again. Kidnappers, abductors, pedophiles, family members, runaways, it wouldn't matter. They could all be found in a matter of minutes with out fail.

How?

Implanted GPS. Capable of being tracked by satellite any where on the planet. Placed in the child's body until the age of 18. For their 18th birthday they get the right to privacy and freedom.

Before you start screaming "Big Brother", human rights groups have beat you to it. Having these implants placed in your kids is illegal. It violates the children's, right to privacy.

That's right. A child's right to privacy. WTF?

What is wrong with us? What is more important to us as parents? To us as a society?

We would rather have children run away or be taken and sold into slavery or used as some perverts sex toy than infringe on a child's right to privacy?

These are rules that are being made by people that don't have children. What if it was your child? They go to park to play with friends and don't come home. You give them the benefit of the doubt and wait for a while. Then you go to the park and look for them. Not there. Their friends say your child went home. Now what. You call the police and wait. And wait and wait and wait. While God knows what is happening to your child you are helpless to find them.

Where are our priorities? How could the ability to find our kids be a bad thing? What ever happened to the "Greater good of society"? No more missing children, ever, is a Greater Good.

It's our job to protect them. To keep them as safe as we can. Why aren't we doing everything we can?

800,000 children a year.








Leave Of My Senses...

Life is kicking my butt. I'm behind at absolutely everything. Gallery work, painting, framing, school, homework, website updates, reading... I can't keep up with it all. On top of all of that, I'm exhausted. No matter what I do I can't get enough rest. I wake up tired.

For the last few weeks I've been thinking about our future. In my life up to this point I had never really given my future much thought. I always seemed to know what I was going to do or where I was headed. Never a doubt or a worry.

For the life of me I can't see where we're headed. I think about us moving. Opening another gallery some where else. Working for someone else again. I just can't see it.

I have been looking around at other places. Talking to people about where they live, what they do and why they like it.

Honestly, none of it sounds appealing. I don't really want to move. I like our house. The quiet seclusion. Not very keen on the city. I miss larger places. The culture and convenience that goes with them. I want it all but only the bits I want.

Working just doesn't appeal to me. I want to stay home with Mr. Man and paint. Even though being at home with Mr. Man doesn't really leave me time to paint.

I'm such a mess right now. Totally irrational.

This morning Mr. Man was walking down the drive way, turned and waved at me saying, "Bye Daddy." All of the sudden it broke my heart. Like he was leaving home forever. I was crushed. We were just going to play in the woods.

That's not normal behavior. Even for me. I need a nap.

That's Hot...

I had the best time guest posting for Laurence at Bee Happy. People had the nicest comments. She has some great readers. I am looking forward to reading their sites as well.

This weekend is going to be full of heat, family(in laws), heat, humidity, heat and farm land as far as the eye can see. Did I mention heat? Yes friends, we are headed to Nebraska. That just sent a chill down my spine. Is that ironic? Or just creepy?

I should enjoy the chill while I can. The weather channel is reporting 100 plus temps with high humidity. Oh happy day. I very much dislike heat.

To the rest of the guest posters at Bee Happy, Best of luck, I promise to comment with my support as soon as I return. I will be computer free while we're away.

Guest Posting...

This is my 200th post here at Mad William.

For the occasion I am guest posting in France today. I do love to visit France.

Thank you very much to Laurence from Bee Happy. Hope you like it.

The Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home...

I was talking with a lady today about our work. I mentioned that the piece she was looking at was a limited edition of 95 images.

Lady: What do the other 94 look like?

Me:.....They look just like this one. They're all exactly the same.

Lady: That's amazing. How talented do you have to be to make all 95 of them look the same?

Me: Excuse me?

Lady: So what medium is this one?

Me: There is no medium, it's a print.

Lady: I know it's a print but how is it done? Is it oil, acrylic, water color...?

Me: It's a print. It's printing ink. They are all printed at the same time. That's why they are all the same.

Lady: Yes, but it has to be something. It looks like oil to me but there is no texture. Oil paintings have texture.

Me: They don't always have texture, it depends on the artist. In this case this is a replica of the original oil. It is printed to look just like the painting.

Lady: Yes but someone had to paint this one.

Me: You seem to be confused. What part of print am I not explaining to you? They take the original painting, create a template, screens or scans and then it is printed onto the canvas with big machines. No one is painting these one at a time.

Lady: That's remarkable. So what medium is it?

Me:..................

American Week In France...

Laurence from Bee Happy has kindly asked me to participate in "American Week". Six bloggers from the US will each write a guest post while she is on holiday.

Here is the line up:


That's Monday August 6th through Saturday August 11th.
I am scheduled for Tuesday the 7th.

This is the first time I have been asked to guest post. I'm quite excited about it. The fact that it's a French site is all the better. I'm sure I was French in another life.

I have spent the last week trying to decide what to write about. I still have no clue. The other bloggers are very talented and I 'm feeling the pressure. As long as I can keep from making an ass of myself I'll be happy.

Oh, The Things I Hear...

People ask some strange questions from time to time. Sometimes I give them answers they deserve. Sometimes I am left speechless. Either way I get a good laugh out it.


Lady: Do you ever sell any of the work in here?

Me: No. I have never sold a single thing. I keep hoping we will. It would make paying rent much easier.

*****

Man: Did you paint all of these?

Me: Yes. I did. I use twenty different names and work in every style and medium known to man.

*****

Couple: (looking at an acrylic sculpture) Are these things made of ice?

Me: Yes, yes they are. We use special kryptonite light bulbs that keep them frozen.

*****

Lady: Why are these works so expensive?

Me: They're by Picasso and Chagall.

Lady: I've never heard of them. They're not as good as Thomas Kinkade.

Me:................

*****

Man: This area has a lot of talented artists.

Me: Yes it does, but none of our artists are from this area. They come from all over the world.

Man: No way! How do you get the work here?

Me: FedEx, UPS, Mail.

Man: And you're allowed to send art around the world?

Me:.............

*****

Lady: These Dr Seuss prints are really cool. Do you , like, tear them out of the books and sell them here?

Me: Shhhh! We don't want everyone doing it.

*****

Lady: Your sign says that dogs are welcome. So can I bring in my dog?

Me: Sure, your dog is welcome. You have to wait outside.

*****

Man to Lady: What do you think of this painting? Wouldn't it look great in our family room?

Lady to Man: I hate that. We are never having anything like that in our home.
What about this one?

Man to Lady: It's nice, I guess.

Lady to Man: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT? YOU ARE SUCH AN ASS!
THIS IS WHY WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE!


None of this had anything to do with me. I have never felt more sorry for a guy in my life. They had this exchange about four feet away from me, so I just had to share. As sad as it is, this kind of thing happens way more than you would think.


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...