Tuesday, December 12th

It was much warmer this morning. And it’s warmer still.. now that the sun is up. From the looks of things, we’ll be back in the 70s by the weekend.

I’ve been thinking a lot here lately about collecting. I spent my whole life collecting things.

As a young child.. it was rocks. Even into my 30s, I couldn’t resist picking up and collecting rocks and minerals. Over the years almost all of my collection has fallen by the wayside.

I guess the next big thing was the collection of books that almost took over my house. It’s only been in the last decade that I’ve begun to 10 through that horde to just a few select pieces of the written word.

I once had a large collection of Ansel Adams posters and prints. I decorated the walls of my office at work. Then in 1999 our offices burned down and my collection went up and smoke.

Over the years I’ve even felicitated my wife’s collections. It became a bit of a tongue in cheek joke between the two of us. First it was Boyd’s Bears .. for rather obvious reasons. And when Boyd’s Bears became hard to find I started giving her Jim Shore Angels.

And then…. About a decade ago I discovered the art of GC Myers. And as the years have gone by, I have acquired.. first prints… Then an original or two… I went from admirer to collector. I’m almost embarrassed by the number of pieces that are now entailed and my collection.

Over the years, even though we’ve never met, I like to think that Gary and I have become friends. Though sometimes I fear that I may seem like something of a stalker. It’s not my intention.

Gary always speaks about the emotion contained in his paintings.. and I must say, that has to be the attraction to me of the images he produces. I find it easy to get lost in the contemplation of his images.

And for all the pleasure that his images bring me, I wish to thank him.

Head on that note, I’d like to wish each and every one of the two of you who read this on a regular basis… A Happy Holidays!