March is damn near gone...........

..and I've been neglecting this thing. Sorry.

My apologies to all three of you who read it. I've been busy trying to buy and sell, do my taxes, help the museum, monitor the market, get rid of a 1997 Buick Park Avenue, and on and on, more than write this mindless dribble.

The current highwaymen market in a nutshell: great paintings by the more talented artists are strong, and the myriad of plain old run-of-the-mill paintings continue to show weakness. If you like this kind of stuff, if you believe in volume and completion of a "set", it's a great buying opportunity across the board for lower end, less eye-appealing highwaymen paintings. The key word here is "cheap", or as we might say in a presentation, "less expensive".

If you only invest in the great ones that come on the market, well, get in line, please. It's like the deli counter at Publix, take a number. These opportunities seldom knock.

Yes, even in this tough economy, although the news media seems to have finally slightly toned down their universal message of "let's panic, let's jump off buildings, we're all gonna lose our houses", the better paintings are immediately salable. That's key, for without liquidity, there is no market.

This song got stuck in my head.......

.........early this morning, and I don't really know why. I don't think I've actually heard it for ages.

So I thought I'd sing it to you, hopefully get it out of there.

I think it was done by Marty Robbins about fifty years ago. Back in the radio days. Jeez, that's five DECADES.

I see some parallels to the news as it's reported by today's media and the way they hook the public into listening to their slanted reports of the economy, causing widespread anguish, the gnashing of teeth, and most importantly, a fear of spending any money.

Whoever wrote the song was tired of the headlines of the day, same as I am.

If you're under thirty years old, you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, but history repeats itself. You're probably not reading this, anyway, so go back to your XBox and kill a bunch of imaginary people. Or play Rock Band and pretend you're Steven Tyler, or that other girl, Freddie Mercury. :O)

(Not that there's anything wrong with, ahem, that). :O)

OK, now I'm singing..............................

"Let's think about living
Let's think about loving
Let's think about the hooping and the hopping and the bopping
And the lovey dovey doving

Let's forget about the whining and the crying
And the shooting and the dying
And the fella with the switch blade knife
Let's think about living
Let's think about life."

The only way the economy will continue to improve is if the public can improve their collective mindset.
More of you have to stop sitting on your hands and go out and spend some money.
Cash HAS TO FLOW for us to rise from the bottom of this cycle.

Forget about the whining and the crying.
What we need is a good kick in the ass.

Like I said, I'm old school.

2009 Kickoff ....Part 2

February is the shortest month of the year, so there aren't too many days off.

Feb 1st was the grand opening of the Safety Harbor Museum's Tenth Annual Highwaymen exhibit and sale. It just doesn't seem like Y2K was a decade ago, but I actually counted on my fingers just to make sure and I had to use all ten. Math whiz, eh ?

We helped the Museum, as we have in the past, fill in some holes they had in their quest to hang paintings by each of the 26 highwaymen. This year, all they needed was a George and an Ellis Buckner, and an Alphonse Moran.

Moran, a barber, was too busy cutting hair before he passed on to the next life, I guess, so his art work is often hard to come by. I bet I've seen two hundred Harold Newton paintings for every one painting I've seen by Moran. I had sold a sweet poinciana by him last May, though, and was pleased that the collectors who own it allowed us to use it for the exhibition. It's a great one, too.

The Buckner brothers were more prolific, however, and it was much easier to find a couple of nice ones, a seascape by Ellis and a poinciana by George.

Also, on display as part of the exhibit, is the Schlesinger painting, the Harold Newton self portrait that was featured in Antiques and Art Around Florida last summer.

The museum has graciously allowed me additional wall space to display some working inventory, (stuff I've got for sale), about a dozen Harolds, four Hairs and a few miscellaneous highwaymen, including an upson Hezekiah Baker signed by Al Black and a 24 x 48 Mary Ann Carroll on canvas done in 1990.

We did the West Palm show last weekend, and again, as in January, the crowd was ENORMOUS. Larry, one of the out-front outside vendors at the show told me he has NEVER seen the line of customers so long, waiting for the show to open at noon on Friday. The public was spending money, people, fewer dealers were complaining.

I saw headlines yesterday that retail spending was way up in January and I can vouch for that based on first-time sales to new retail customers. Best show we've had since the beginning of the summer.

News of the day, good and bad...........

THIS IS ONE REASON WHY I VOTED FOR THE MAN. HE MAKES SENSE.

HE KNOWS WE REGULAR FOLKS NEED INSPIRATION. I HAD TRULY HOPED HE COULD END THE FEEDING FRENZY. HE'S GOT A BATTLE ON HIS HANDS NOW, EH ?

FROM AOL:

WASHINGTON (Feb. 4) - Call it the maximum wage. President Barack Obama wants to impose a $500,000 pay cap on executives whose firms receive government financial rescue funds, a dramatic intervention into corporate governance in the midst of financial crisis.

"If the taxpayers are helping you, then you've got certain responsibilities to not be living high on the hog," President Barack Obama said Tuesday.

AND IN OTHER NEWS FROM AOL THIS MORNING. FEBRUARY 4TH:

They say, "You learn something new every day."

OF COURSE, I, PERSONALLY, KNEW MOST OF THESE ALREADY, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE WITH YOU, GENTLE READER, FOR WHEN YOU TRAVEL THE WORLD.

In Hong Kong, a woman is legally allowed to kill her cheating husband -- but only if she uses her bare hands. The husband's lover, however, may be killed in any manner desired.

SOUNDS FAIR TO ME.

In Lebanon, men are legally allowed to have sex with animals -- so long as the animals are female. It is illegal to have sex with a male animal, however.

OH, THOSE LEBANESE !!!!

In Switzerland, a man may not relieve himself while standing up, after 10 P.M.

BROKE THAT RULE, BUT IT'S OK IN FLORIDA, I THINK.

In Thailand, it is illegal to leave your house if you are not wearing underwear.

I THINK IT'S OK HERE, TOO.

In China, women are prohibited from walking around a hotel room in the nude; a woman may only be naked while in the bathroom.

GO ELSWHERE FOR YOUR HONEYMOON, YOUNGSTERS.

NOW POSTING AT SHOWS

I WON'T TELL YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

I DO SUGGEST THAT YOU INVEST IN ART IF YOU CAN ACCESS ANY AVAILABLE FUNDS.

SAVVY INVESTORS ARE LOADING UP ON ART

WHY ??????

THEY ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE CURRENT ECONOMY

WHICH HAS FORCED VALUES AND PRICES LOWER

WE ARE ON TOP OF THE CURRENT TRENDS IN THIS MARKET
WE HAVE BEEN DEALERS IN COLLECTIBLES FOR OVER 35 YEARS
PRICES ARE DERIVED FROM BASIC SUPPLY AND DEMAND
THE SUPPLY IS FIXED AND SHRINKING BUT THE DEMAND IS LOW

THESE KINDS OF MARKETS MOVE IN CYCLES

WE NOW FIND OURSELVES AT A LOW POINT IN THE ART MARKET, AND WE KNOW

THAT HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF IN SUPPLY AND DEMAND MARKETS, AND WE KNOW

THAT VALUES WILL INCREASE AND SURPASS THEIR PREVIOUS HIGHS AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE IN THE PAST

THE BOTTOM MAY NOT BE HERE YET, BUT IT'S DAMN CLOSE
AND CERTAINLY TIME TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

THE ECONOMY WILL IMPROVE, MAYBE NOT TOMORROW, OR NEXT MONTH, BUT IT WILL IMPROVE, DISPOSABLE INCOME WILL INCREASE, AND VALUES WILL BE BACK ON THE RISE


THE SMARTEST PEOPLE I KNOW ARE BUYING ART
WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN THEM AT CURRENT PRICE LEVELS

So, I'm at this antique show, see, and............

......the display is set up, finishing touches are all in place in my booth, and the first question I get from one of the first people through the door is, "Are you the artist ?"

I know they mean well, and they are just trying to initiate some pleasantries, but gawd, it has gotten so OLD. I mean I've heard it at least a thousand times. I just smile and say, "No, I buy and sell art created by quite a few artists, "important" listed ones, talented professionals and amateurs, as well as Florida's highwaymen."

Sometimes I'll just amuse myself and say, "Yes, I painted this one in 1925 and signed it Paul Turner Sargent", or some smart-ass thing like that. I don't do it very often, but if, like, three people in a row ask me that, I'm liable to. I'm not at risk because these people would never buy a painting, anyway. I know this to be an undeniable fact based on the first thousand who asked.
I've never seen the first nickel from any of them.

This is not whining, (remember, I promised not to), it's venting, and it's developing into a list of my personal Pet Peeves.

The second most popular question is, "Where is your location?" I get this almost as often as "Did you paint these?" I guess they want to come visit some other time, when they are not quite so busy as they are right now when all my stuff is right in front of them.

So, I tell them, "I don't have a bricks and mortar gallery, I have an internet gallery and I attend shows, like this one, around the state. Right now is the best time for you to see what I have to offer." Stock answer, no self-amusing twists on this one.

Next is, "Do you have a business card ?" "Yes, I have hundreds of them. Here you go", I say, "these are perfect for grocery lists." And I do believe 75% of my cards are used for that, especially after I give them the idea.

There is this one guy, he visits my booth at every WPB show. Little guy with a ball cap, always in short pants, maybe he's seventy. He's been doing this for at least 6 or 7 years, probably longer. He never asks a price on anything, or shows obvious interest in any paintings, he only goes right to the open "Coast to Coast" book I have on display to enhance and fortify the art I offer by the artists who are in the book, usually Blair, Stanford, Kolbe and Emmett Fritz.
AND HE STANDS THERE AND READS IT for about five minutes. Every show, every time.

He always takes a business card. He doesn't ask if I have one because he knows from experience right where they are. Every show, every time, he must have picked up fifty of them. At a nickel apiece, it's a small price for me to pay for the personal amusement factor.

I actually LOVE this guy and I'll be saddened if I stop seeing him.

Just a quick note.......

I'll follow up on this later, (after I read it myself) but it seems encouraging......


Finally, a positive spin on AOL. Again, have we turned the corner ?


THE HEADLINE : Secondhand Stores Shine in Weak Retail Market