Ghosts, Mort Karp + Wittgenstein
I believe in ghosts. I know it may sound a bit crazy. Every since I was a little boy, I always looked for ghosts. Some of my ghost were friendly—others very scary. But soon, at about age 6, I realized that if I confronted the ghost directly they no longer would bother...
Dogs, Coke and Cleanliness
This photo was taken at my father's Texaco Service Station located at 5600 Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The likely date of the photograph is 1953 when I was about 5 years old. This is the same age as my granddaughter, Olive Soucy, today. In the picture are...
2018: Stepping Away to Step Inside
After reading Maria Popova's recent blog post, In Praise of the Telescopic Perspective: A Reflection on Living Through Turbulent Times, I was reminded that at the end of each year we collectivley try and assess the year's events and attempt, through resolutions,...
A Year of Change: 2016.12.31>2017.12.31
The year began with my leaving Mexico on New Year's Eve for a year in Italy. But 2017 actually began October 1, 2016 when I formally retired from the company I founded on October 1, 1981 with Tom Meyer and Garth Rockcastle: Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd. I...
Italy 2017.11.25>12.01.048
Week 48: The last week in Italy I finished my last week with Davide Barbini with a still life of a wine bottle, oranges, newspaper, my diary and favorite Pelikan ink pen. It was a challenging still life since one side was lit with a blueish white light and the other...
Italy 2017.11.11>11.24.046+47
Weeks 46 and 47 With only three weeks left in my time in Florence, weeks 46 and 47 were packed. We visited Venice and Lisbon on two consecutive weekends. We enjoyed both cities immensely. Seeing the Tintoretto and Titian painting in Venice was especially invigorating....
Italy 2017.11.04>11.10.045
Saturday marked my third class with Davide Barbini. Davide is an instructor at the Angel Academy of Art. He takes on extra students in his spare time. Besides his deep knowledge and artistic skill, Davide is a dedicated student of art and art technique. We have...
Italy 2017.10.28-11.3>44
On Saturday, we toured the Altes Nationale Museum in Berlin to see paintings from the late 1800s to the early 20th century. This purpose built museum for a fixed collection was the first in the world to collect impressionist paintings (Monet in 1876). It houses work...
Italy 2017.10.21>27.043
Week 43 in Florence began with my first lesson with Davide Barbini, my former instructor at The Angel Academy of Art. I chose Davide because of his experience with color, his keen eye and his innate understanding of the needs of the neophyte student. My first lesson...
Italy 2017.10.14>20.042
We arrived in Florence on Sunday, September 15 in the early evening. Bright and early the next morning I began classes at Amy Florence Mosley's studio located on Piazzale Donatello (just 10 minutes further walk north from Angel Academy and 3o minutes from my...
México 2017.09.30>10.06.040
This week marks the end of my summer at home. Next Friday the 13th of October, Lea and I leave for Italy. We will be there for seven weeks during which time I will work with Davide Barbini and Amy Florence Mosely. This week we began the process of cleaning the house,...
Mérida, Yucatan > Portland, Oregon
Lea and I have decided to leave Mérida for Portland, Oregon. We will miss the deep and wonderful friendships that we have nurtured since the fall of 2013. We will sincerely miss the wonderful Mayan people—their love of family, quiet tenacity and centuries-long...