Feeling a little Hoity-Toity. An evening visitor at the front counter looked across the store and said:
I love your Larry Greer.
As in… original watercolor painting by artist Larry Greer that’s hanging on the wall of the shop, a painting I’ve owned all of my adult life. And my customer is talking about it with authority.
That was from his post-European-visit phase, she said.
Oh.
According to her – and I have no reason to disbelieve – the late Mr. Greer was first known as a painter of western-style art. It was a long time ago when I bought the painting and I don’t remember anything else that was on display under his canopy.
It was at the Italian Festival at McAlester, years ago. Back then, the event was a big deal and was attended by at least one of the big-city television stations every couple of years. I don’t know if it has survived as an annual festival or not – shame on me.
The year the Original Greer (I may start calling it that from now on…hoity-toity-like), the year it came into my hands, I was a young DJ working afternoon drive radio in McAlester. The festival committee apparently decided that the way to entice some higher quality artists to display their works was to guarantee that some paintings would be sold.
We were asked as business-folks to promise to shell out some money. I offered to spend eighty dollars (and what was I thinking?) That amount was – as I recall – the figure I was paying for monthly rent. Eighty dollars doesn’t sound like so much now, but think about your own monthly mortgage or rent payment.
Yikes.
What can I say? I was a civic-minded knucklehead and not so good with finances.
The Italian Festival rolled around and – always one to stand behind my word – I dug into the cigar box and pulled out those saved-up twenty dollar bills. After polishing off a plate of spaghetti and ravioli, I wandered around the grounds looking for something that might liven up my apartment.
Maybe something out of the ordinary, just a tad.
Larry Greer handed over his watercolor and it has been in my custody since. I’ve never known much about it except how it came to be on my wall. Not too long ago, a woman spoke to Dustin about it and later returned with a printed page about an Oklahoma City art auction. It showed the sale of a companion piece to the one I own.
Same red-capped fellow in the same matte and frame, but painted in profile. Auctioned for some twelve-hundred dollars. It made me feel better about spending my eighty all those years ago. It’s still valued at about the same as a rent payment.
Then today, the lady says: I love your Larry Greer.
I may have gotten eighty dollars worth of satisfaction just having someone recognize it. Not a Picasso or Remington print, but still.
Nice to have a life-long companion get a little attention.
It’s Friday night – Late Night – in the Rose District! We’ll be serving lunch tomorrow, so…
Come visit!
McHuston
Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!