3/27/14

Dear Monique,
  
Last week was Open Studio here at my flat.  Right before I was about to pack everything up and shut my doors, a man walked in and introduced himself as Ron.  It’s funny how certain situations assure you that you're leading a life worth living.
 
Ron's son died in a plane crash six or seven years ago. His name was also Ron.  Ron Jr. had gotten his pilot license and was flying a Cessna over the Rockies when the plane went down .
 
Four years ago, I did a  watercolor of a plane crashing over the mountains of a make believe town.  I considered the painting dark and unappealing so I stuck it in my portfolio so it would never see the light of day.  I made a couple of horrible prints of the original and only recently pulled one out for the Open Studio.  The print was blanched and the intensity was a fraction of the original watercolor.  The marksmanship had been  muted by the effects of reproduction, but I decided that I could try and sell it given the off chance that it might lend to someone's taste.  I didn’t think much of it.
 
Last week was also the anniversary of Ron Jr.'s death. Ron had walked into my studio and, most assuredly, had his son on his mind.  He rummaged through the prints and found the one of the plane crashing over the mountains.  He rushed up to me and told me that he had to have the print.  I said it was his, as long as I could come to his house and drop off a better copy.  He allowed it and demanded that I call him the next day or he’d be extremely offended.  Ron is an eccentric man, and I decided it imperative that he deserved a phone call.  It wasn't until I called that he told me of his son's death. When we ended our conversation, I remembered I had the original.

I did not tell him, though, until I came to his home yesterday. I spent hours trying to print a better copy, and at the last minute decided it’d be best if Ron had the original.  He decided to buy it for the price I asked for: $500. It was the first real sale I had of my work and the first time I took myself seriously as an artist. I rely now on the fact that I produce pieces not for myself, nor for a greater good, but for the mere emotional interaction I hope to ignite between my work and the onlooker. I hope this make sense. It's how I begin my career as an artist in Baltimore.
 
Today is different.

Chris
  • Upton Mansion
    Shodekeh started this series for me. He's a talent and an activist. We happened upon the Upton Mansion because he felt that the history of the place needed to be told. I'm now glued to watching stories develop on buildings like this one. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/real-estate/2016/02/city-sells-historic-upton-mansion-for-60-000-job.html
  • Liberty Rec and Tech Center
    Whoever doesn't know Kim Trueheart is in the dark. When I found out about her, I heard all the notorious parts: getting kicked out of City Hall / protesting in front of Rite-Aid. Liberty Rec and Tech? That's where she does most of her activism. That's her heart and drive.
  • Kind Woman feeds cats at an abandoned Gas Station
    Yeah, it's different. We drove to the abandoned gas station for different reasons. I was testing my new camera and she was feeding cats. It's definitely part of the process. (360 video)
  • UA Headquarters during Lunch (360 degree video)
    It's a culture, what can I say. It's a campus. It's Port Convington. It's a hiring of Devin Allen. It's rumors of investments in West Baltimore. I dunno I'm just slightly interested in what this place is and the people that walk out of the building during lunch hour. I don't know much but I need a key fob to go into the cafeteria.
  • West Baltimore Resident
    West Baltimore Resident
    Elaine has lived in this home for forty years or more. And when you open the door, you must understand that it's an original knob. It's was installed by her husband when they first moved into the home. You often find little notes of beauty in this town
  • Poppay's Bakery
    Poppay's Bakery
    The Avenue Bakery. It's a spot where you can pick up a tiny sweet potato pie anytime of the year. The waiting area is an exhibit for the Penn Ave. Heritage Trail
  • Penn Ave Heritage Trail
    Penn Ave Heritage Trail
    http://explorebaltimore.org/the-baltimore-experience/experience/urban-heritage-trails/ There's not much listed on the web, but when there's a nice day go for a walk in West Baltimore on the Penn. Ave Heritage Trail. There is a history here and people are committed to keeping that history alive.
  • Royal Theater
    Royal Theater
    The Royal Theatre, located at 1329 Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, first opened in 1922 as the black-owned Douglass Theatre. It was the most famous theater along West Baltimore City's Pennsylvania Avenue, one of a circuit of five such theaters for black entertainment in big cities. Its sister theaters were the Apollo in Harlem, the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., the Regal Theatre in Chicago, and the Earl Theater in Philadelphia. All of the biggest stars in black entertainment, including those in jazz and blues, performed at the Royal. Ethel Waters debuted there, as did Pearl Bailey, who sang in a chorus line. Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller worked as accompanists. Singer Louis Jordan, Duke Ellington, The Tympany Five, Etta James, Nat King Cole, The Platters, The Temptations, and The Supremes, as well as a 40-piece, all-female band touring with Count Basie called the Sweethearts of Rhythm, were all performers at the Royal. Baltimore City's first talking motion picture was shown there: 1929's Scar of Shame, featuring a black cast. It was here that Solomon Burke was crowned the King of Rock 'n" Soul in November 1963. As middle-class, white flight from Old West Baltimore continued during the 1960s and 1970s and accelerated after Pennsylvania Avenue was damaged during the civil rights riots, the entire community began a period of long decline. In 1971, the Royal Theater was demolished. --Wikipedia
  • Penn Ave Heritage Trail Architecture
    Penn Ave Heritage Trail Architecture
    Maybe it's just futurism seeping into my head
  • Sharp Street Methodist Church
    Sharp Street Methodist Church
    The building maintenance manager let me in that day. The place was quiet but full of color.
    •