Saturday, October 29, 2011

James Gibson, People Magazine


When the article in People Magazine came out, I think in 2003 or 2004, I went down to Publix and bought a half a dozen copies. The highwaymen art market had been well established by then with several active dealers dealing, and was cooking right along. Sales were "brisk", as Jim Fitch would proclaim in one of his several articles in Antiques and Art Around Florida.

At the many antique shows where I set up displays of the work I considered to be the most visually exciting and worthy of investment, I would almost always have a vintage painting or two by James for sale alongside the Newtons, Hairs, and McLendons that I favored. I used the magazine as a sales tool to help prove the validity of this market to skeptics and those copies I had bought were soon gone, given to my best customers.

The opportunity to share this link has been made possible by the creative people involved in the upcoming highwayman motion picture via their excellent website.

Here's your link, gentle readers.

http://www.starsnorth.com/highwaymen/pdf/people.pdf

In true People style it's short but sweet. And you will notice, in true People style, it mentions divorce, courting of a fiancee, and celebrities, from Steven Spielberg to Jeb Bush to Geoff Cook.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Robert, Aletha and Dorene Butler.

Winter Haven, Florida.

Friday, Oct 28, 2011

Polk Avenue Elementary hosts Art Awareness event

Polk Avenue Elementary will host a special Art Awareness event Oct. 28 to stress the importance of art in the community and raise awareness about world hunger.

During the event, guest artists Dorene Butler and Aletha Butler will paint an original masterpiece that will be sold to support the school's art department. Dorene and Aletha Butler are daughters of famous Florida wildlife and landscape painter Robert Butler who, in 2004, was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame as one of 26 "Florida Highwaymen."

In addition to the original work created during the event, Robert Butler prints will be available for purchase.

The Polk Avenue Elementary event is planned for 6 to 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public, although donations for the soup supper will be accepted. Polk Avenue Elementary is located at 110 East Polk Avenue in Lake Wales.

Fifth-grade students will exhibit "empty bowls," which they designed and painted to raise awareness about world hunger. Money raised from the sale of these bowls will be donated to the Lake Wales Care Center for local hunger relief programs.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Florida Highwaymen websites (again)

So here we sit and it's damn NEAR 11/11/11.

I was just looking at some old drivel that I've been posting on these sites, and decided that I might as well "Re-tweet" or "Like" it again. Here it is :

**********************************************************

So here we sit, January 2011.

Yesterday, aces were wild, 1/11/11, and coming soon in November, well ...........I don't have to tell you.

Every so often AOL (damn them, once again) sneaks into my computer overnight and scrambles up and scatters all my bookmarked favorites, some go north, others go south, there's no rhyme or reason. And they also restore some favorites that I have long ago deleted.

It's like the episode in that Larry David show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm", where, in a meeting, the brilliant Mel Brooks is sitting next to the brilliant, yet anal-retentive obsessive David, who carefully lines up all his pens, pencils and notepads in parallel lines and has them just perfect.

The instant he's distracted, or turns his head, Brooks immediately reaches over and messes with them, scattering them about. This happens several times and nothing is said, David simply fixes his stuff, lines them back up. Dueling obsessions.

Despite the money I give them every month, AOL becomes Mel Brooks every few months.
Maybe they think it's funny. I don't.

The point of all that claptrap is that I was reminded of how many highwaymen web sites have come and gone in the last decade because they have reappeared due to this AOL cyber-mischief. There have been quite a few dealers, artists, wannabes and copy-cats who have drifted into this market only to drift back out.

Speaking of wannabes, I just can't stop myself from mentioning this. If you watch eBay, you may have noticed that there's a new clown in town and he's wearing a cowboy hat. Sheesh.

Gone, but not forgotten (by me, anyway), are sites by Roy McLendon Sr, Mary Ann Carroll and the Buckner Brothers (done by Ellis Jr.).

And who could forget dealer John Phillips and his FLART ? Great name.

I was also reminded that we are still standing after a full decade of putting our main web site http://www.highwaymen-buy-sell-trade.com/ up there for the world to find.

When AOL restores sites I had marked in the past, I tend to click on them to see what's what.
All are no longer valid, their former domain names available for sale, which is, of course, why I deleted them in the first place.

So, of course, I delete them all once again.

Every morning I monitor all things "highwaymen" on the Internet, art shows, antique shows, dealers, auction houses, artists, and any news articles or new publications.

If I'm going to be ON TOP OF THE MARKET, I feel as though it's nothing less than my duty to do this. So I do it.

I do hereby officially pat myself on the back for having the perseverance to keep on keeping on, staying with this market and the art that I truly love.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

highwaymen art online




Except for these blogs, anything that gets done on the web site is the result of magical computer work by my brilliant administrative assistant, the fabulous and sometimes charming Ms Amy Elizabeth LeBlanc.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Florida Highwaymen movie

Here it is, boys and girls.

It looks like it could be very cool.

The Highwaymen - a Stars North film

Here's a copy/paste of the email:


Thanks, Bob! Will definitely check out your site and hoping we can stay in touch. We are going to start a campaign soon to help raise funds to produce this film and would greatly appreciate it if you'd help start spreading the word!

We've got our link on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Highwaymen-a-Stars-North-film/175783589153810


And, of course, our Highwaymen-dedicated web site:
http://www.starsnorth.com/highwaymen/


Thank you so very much! Hope to talk with you again soon!


Todd Thompson
STARS NORTH Films
P.O. Box 470181
Celebration, FL 34747-0181

www.starsnorth.com


Sunday, July 17, 2011

highwaymen art appraisals



There's a nice exhibition going on here, thanks to Doug and Janey Ball of Clearwater.

http://www.bradenton.com/2011/07/17/3351328/highwaymen-offer-drive-back-in.html

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Highwaymen on eBay




Just amusing myself at someone else's expense.

That's not me. I wish I was that young again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcvjXAtzaMU