Bishop Hill

This weekend I tried to get caught up on the art biz. Friday evening The Woman and I attended an opening for a fellow artists show at the Foster Center. Cheryl Dean photography of water and sky on a recent trip to Hawaii. After we had hoped to go to a Peoria Chiefs game but the weather turned cold and rainy so we ended up just going to dinner.

The next day I was off delivering two of the recently finished 8 x 8's to the Art Guild

"Fieldhouse" is a view of the old basketball venue for the Bradley Braves. It recently has began the process of demolition to make way for new buildings and should fetch some bids at the show from alumni wanting a piece of Bradley history.

"Horse Head" is a stone feature on a carriage house at the corner of High Street

and Moss Avenue. I don't know if this will have the same drawing power as the field house but I thought it was interesting.

Speaking of bids, I was just reminded that after dinner on Friday The Woman and I came home and I turned the TV on just in time to catch one of the donated prints "Day" being broadcast on the WTVP Public Television auction. To my amazement the print sold for an over bid ( they bid more than they could have bought it for) so my prices must be good. I was told that both prints that I submitted went for over bids.

After dropping off the paintings I when to Kickapoo Winery to finally drop off some prints there. The paintings looked great hanging in a long hallway between the tasting room ( a very quaint bar area that could be rented for private parties ) and the banquet hall. With all that has been going on I had to apologize for the delay.

Then it was off to Bishop Hill ....... I had no idea how far off it was......... I had given a painting "Antique Mall" to a fellow artist Jeffery Gourd who had taken over a gallery and was needing large pieces to fill it. Well it has been over a year and there is a competition coming up in Galesburg so I needed to get the piece back. After calling and getting directions I set out from the winery. About 50 miles later down long desolate stretches of country roads ( Illinois is flat and full of cornfields ) with a 35 mile an hour cross wind, I arrived at Bishop Hill "population 150". I asked myself with gas prices the way they are how can a gallery attract many people when it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Bishop Hill is 50 miles from everywhere. Jeffery was pleasant and showed me the Gallery space ( it really was a nice space 12 foot high ceilings and lots of natural light ) but I kept thinking who would come all this way to see a show. He pulled my painting out of storage as he was hanging another show at the time, and there was bird poop on it!! I didn't point it out but it was there. I brought it home, cleaned it up, and shot it for submission. I don't think anything else will need to be picked up from there.