Another day in the great white south...(a Canadian winter joke on us). It's nineteen degrees, snowing, everyone is worried about their pipes bursting. In Texas, they routinely bury the water pipe into the house at about 2 feet. But when it doesn't get above freezing for 3-5 days, everyone starts to worry. I've been in the house awhile, no reason to go out and freeze. The washer doesn't work now...I'm sure it's frozen pipes...
No one from Texas knows about snow tires either. Super Bowl is in a couple days, and Amarillo Texas has sent a dozen snowplows to our area. We never have a need for them here, but in the Texas panhandle -about 350 miles from here, they get a lot of snow. It is nice of them to help us plow...
It's fun to work on my photo skills...catch up on recorded TV...cooking romantic dinners for two...and Sylvia's been doing breakfast -50-50 split for cooking. I've also been painting. I love to copy Van Gough. Totally amateur of course, but fun. I enjoy it right up to the minute I see the real thing...then I realize how bad my version is... No wonder his paintings bring millions. Of course, he only sold one piece during his lifetime. I guess if you met him in person you'd think "who wants a painting made by a crazy man? -It can't have value!"
Sometimes I daydream about a friend calling from Europe "I'm in a small village in France at an estate sale. There is small painting here for 50 bucks...I
know it's a Van Gough...do you want me to buy it for you? Do you want to take a chance? I mean it's only 50 bucks. They don't know what they got! It belonged to their great grandfather who has lived here forever!" I know, it's a silly thought. To make it worse, would I ask, "I don't know, how big is it?"
I laugh at the thought that the size of a Van Gough windfall would make a difference. "What? It's only 8 inches by 13 inches? That's no bigger than notebook paper...deal me out..."
I'm sometimes puzzled by people who ask over the phone how many pictures they get if I were to photograph their wedding. It's a quantity question without regard to quality. Anyone can take a picture...what they capture, and how they treat it is huge. Just like I painted a Van Gough...His -15 million, mine...5 bucks. Suppose you and your love were sitting having coffee at Starbucks -and Van Gough was still alive. That red-haired guy, sketching on a notepad overhears you talking about your wedding plans. "Excuse me he says...I'm an artist (it's Vincent). I'd like to come to your wedding, and paint the scene. I'll try to capture the feelings and romance of the day, give you the canvas when I'm done. Can I attend?" Do you ask, "I don't know, just how big is the painting you make for us? Can you do two smaller ones instead of the big one you were thinking of?"
Gosh, you trust the plumber or electrician who comes to your house, why not trust the artist or photographer?
