Merry’s Musings

I was going through some old photographs of my work recently and came across this photo. It reminded me of this funny story.

Years ago, when I was still a struggling artist, I managed a gallery in Carmel, California. It was exclusively a folk art, Americana collection. After working in the gallery a year or so, I was invited to show my work there, much to my delight.

Carmel and the surrounding area has always been home to celebrities and the famous. Many have homes or vacations homes, many vacation or visit there. So, most of the locals are used to seeing familiar, famous faces. We respect their privacy and serve them as any perspective client.

So one day when I was working and looked up, and saw Allen Funt walk in the front door, I recognized him immediately and politely let him know I was available to answer any questions he might have. He told me he liked the style very much and wanted to do a wall in his kitchen in Los Angeles in small Americana paintings.

He was very casual and walked around the gallery selecting small pieces from various artists. We had a good dozen or so picked by then. After he’d passed my wall of paintings more than once, I couldn’t stand it. I told him that I was the artist of those. That was a bit of a no no, but, at that point he’d been wrapping up his choices and I figured it couldn’t hurt.

Well, bless his heart, he stopped and went back and carefully looked over my work. I held my breath a moment and he picked one of mine as well to finish off his collection. Now, I’ve never been all that impressed with celebrities but, he was an American icon and he was buying one of MY paintings. That was a totally different story. I was over the moon.

I sat at my desk and wrote up the sale for him. It wasn’t a huge amount but it was a nice sale. He gave me his credit card and I took it into my little office off the gallery to run it though the machine. I carefully did that and…..it was declined.

I couldn’t believe it. I repeated the number very carefully and it was declined again. “It can’t be”, I thought. Oh no! He’s playing a prank on me. This couldn’t be happening. No, he doesn’t do that any more. I was pacing around this back office about the size of a postage stamp, and it had taken quite a while by now. Back and forth, back and forth. So, one more time I tried the card. No joy.

I steeled myself then because I had to go back out here and tell Allen Funt his card wouldn’t go through. More pacing. I just couldn’t do it. Back and forth, back and forth. I finally crept back out and told him that there was some horrible mistake at the credit card company. His card had been declined. My hands are sweating now even thinking about it. I have never been so embarrassed in my life.

Oh, he’d been traveling he told me. No problem and gave me another card. It went though immediately. I almost fainted with relief. I didn’t start laughing about it until much much, much later. He thanked me for my help and said he’d be back in the morning to pick up his paintings. He wanted to hand carry them on the plane he said.

So I spent the rest of the day bathed in relief, getting them into some semblance of a carry on piece of luggage. In the end, I had something wrapped up that looked like something that should be slung over the back of a pack mule. But when he picked it up the next day, he was quite happy with it.

I know he passed in September,1999, but I smile every time I think it. And thank heavens I wasn’t on Candid Camera.

I just finished the San Francisco, anniversary painting. I was very happy with it. But, I still love Paris. So I went right back to a Paris celebration with this new one, “Just Say YES!” I figure if I can bend the Eiffel Tower to my will, making it as small as need be or the size of Empire State Building, depending on where I want to place it, then,  the principles of gravity need not apply.  That always works for me. What is the point if I can’t have fun with it?

And for those who are curious to know, he absolutely says yes! What? Were you thinking he came up with all that planning?

hot air balloons art

In 2003, I was asked by a company in Osaka, Japan, Ecole de Paris to come there and do two shows. I went back again in 2004 and 2005. It was an incredible experience.

I was going through my files a few days ago and came across  flyers that the department stores, where I worked, produced to publicize the shows. I thought they would be fun to share. Also included are the handouts that were given at the doors to the department stores to get people up to gallery floor. I have no idea what they actually say, tell the truth. I hope most of it is good. And yes, I was showing along side the images of Chagall, Miro and Picasso.

Okay jigsaw puzzle fans, here are three new ones. I was thinking the other day about the jigsaws made from my work. Over the years, there have been about fourteen images made into puzzles.

When I first had them published, I actually put a couple of them together. It took me about two hours or so. I found it interesting that, having painted them, I knew the moment I looked at the piece, by color or texture, just where they went. So, after the excitement of them wore off I got bored with it.

But here is a lovely story about them. One I did was a Christmas scene. A few years ago, I was contacted online by a woman who had purchased it, years before. She had a family tradition of putting it together with her daughter every holiday season. But the previous Christmas, she’d found that a piece had gone missing. Could I possible tell her where she could purchase another.

Well, they had been out of print for some time. But I crawled up in the attic and dug through my old boxes because, packrat that I am, I knew I had many of them stored away. And yes, there was a spare of that puzzle. I sent it off to her and she was quite happy. I was pretty happy too knowing that I had become part of a holiday tradition for them. Truth be told, it made me feel quite old too.

So, here are three more. I am not sure where else they are available but I found this site has them if anyone is interested.  Also, I’ve found that the old ones come up pretty regularly on EBay.

My Puzzles

I have been busy painting lately. One of my favorite subjects is celebration. Birthdays or weddings or anniversaries. I have done a few Paris fantasy ones but after my last San Francisco Victorian extravaganza, I realized I hadn’t done one of San Francisco. One of my favorite things about being an artist is that, the laws of nature do not apply. My painting, my rules. You have got to love that.

So, here you have it.  “Best Anniversary Ever!” 

victorians prints

After that big commission, I was inspired to keep painting. As in, paint on canvas.  So paint I did. And here is my latest.  I hope you enjoy it. I sure did.

Everyone Loves Ice Cream   24×20″

I’ve always had a fondness for ballet. I took a class in Germany when I was very small and I loved it. So before I wanted to be an artist, I wanted to be a ballerina. It was all about the outfits for me though. Oh, to own a tutu. But, my father next stop in his Army career, was back to the states, then off to Okinawa. No ballet classes there. So, artist it was.

I’ve painted many of the bits of ballet in my work. When I began com-painting as I call it, the little ballet kids were a natural. Easy and fun. Here’s what you get if you combine many, many bits of ballet.  I am working on a new painting but took a little time to piece this together.

ballet art

Here is my newest painting. It was a commission and a fun one. It is a later version of one I did in 1993 called, “I Left My Art in San Francisco”. And it had been a good long while since I’d done one this large. A 24×30″ painting for me is quite an undertaking.

A large painting, I like to tell people, is an act of faith on my part. With the detailed work I do, basically, it doesn’t look like it will work until the last few days. That is when it starts to come together, to come to life. So for more than a month, it looked like is wasn’t going to work. They never look like they will.

Over the years, I’ve wanted to photograph a large painting from beginning to end. But I never remember to do it and then, gave up the very large pieces. This one I did remember to do though. So, here it is in a series, start to finish.

I have to say that, even as the artist, I look at it coming together and in the end, think, “Wow, look what I did.” I must say, I couldn’t be happier with it.

It was not without its aggravation though. One of the client’s few requests was an Australian flag. I had printed out a copy of it for reference. But as these new printers use so much ink, I only did a small wallet size of it. I had not varnished the painting until it was back from the photographer, so, I was getting the shipping address from the gentleman’s e-mail, where he’d included a copy of the flag for me to see.

I was looking at it and noticed something was off. I came to realize that the printer had cropped off one of the stars on the flag. One can use artistic license as a good excuse for many things, that was not one of them. So, I had to go back, paint out all the stars on the flag, and repaint in the correct number. Yep; I said bad words. But good that I hadn’t varnished it yet. So, in the photographs, there is one star short on the Australian flag. Because, I forgot to photograph it again before it shipped.

Oh well, I was close.

So, I hope you enjoy the slide show of “A Long Way From Oz”, start to finish.

I’ve been working away in sea otter mode. I do know they are not exactly like the real ones. It is called artistic license. I call it, they’re my images and I’ll do them the way I like. I know they have whiskers and I know they have a tail but I like them this way.

They really are very charming little creatures. But they are wild animals. Don’t get me started on the way they mate. It reminds me of what Bismark said about laws. Like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. But that is nature. Not always gentle.

So here is my fanciful version of them sleeping. Yes, I know they sleep on the surface. Under water that could only do a catnap as about eight minutes is all they can hold their breath for. An adorable fact too is that they hold hands (paws) to keep from drifting away from their raft, as well as wrapping themselves in seaweed.

Here is my latest com-painting. I am still wrapped up in the re-opening of the sea otter exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.But I my expanding my little catalog of images for the plants and sea life. Here’s is my latest offering.  And yes, if it looks a bit different, I did go back and add some more to it.