I had a great time in California. I met some long-time collectors and had several fantastic culinary experiences.

The show has been received very well, but now I have to seriously start thinking about what comes next — both exciting and intimidating at the same time. But I feel confident and up to the task. I just need to focus, lock myself in the studio for about 6 months and paint, paint, paint.

My second solo exhibition is now up and running at the Elliott Fouts Gallery. I live remarkably far from the gallery, but at the same time, I’m remarkably close. I get constant updates, phone calls, emails, from my friends at the gallery. The opportunity to fly down to California and visit them is one of the high points of my entire year.

Remington Standard No.10 30″ x 30″ | Oil/Canvas | 2011 Sold

Baggage II 36″ x 36″ | Oil/Canvas | 2011 Sold

Baggage III 36″ x 36″ | Oil/Canvas | 2011 Sold

I like letting serendipity decide what I’m going to paint. Much of the luggage in this show came from a good buddy of mine, who one day suggested I check out an online listing for 60 pieces of vintage luggage someone was selling. Then my wife comes home from a thrift store with a piece of luggage. Friends on the other side of the country hear I’m looking for some old electric fans, they put the word out and suddenly I have an amazing collection of fans after they lugged them through airports and delivered them to my door.

GE Vintage Electric Fan 28″ x 22″ | Oil/Canvas | 2011 Sold

I could go on about where my subjects come from and you’d start to wonder if I made any effort at all in getting them. I do seek out a few with specifics in mind, but there’s something really cool about stumbling upon them, like the old typewriters and the primary readers. One hot summer day last year I took my family for a walk through a heritage village only steps away from my grandparents house, and in the back of an ancient town hall was a room stacked to the ceiling with old typewriters an adding machines. Three decades earlier my brother and sister and I played around the old village buildings, and the park near by. We used to peer through the windows at all the old artifacts and curiosities. And now, decades pass, and I’ve come full circle and am allowed to borrow these objects for subjects to paint.

Wizard 40″ x 20″ | Oil/Canvas | 2011 • Available through the Elliott Fouts Gallery

And sometimes, a box will arrive at my door, a gift from Elliott, and inside is a total surprise, like the Wizard gumball machine.