Quick Charcoals

[Mike McCarty]

One of the most stunning sights I have ever witnessed was flying into San Francisco on a clear night. I have been to Sausalito twice, although it's been quite a while since the last.

And yes, I did have one heck of an experience in Sausalito. Because others memories have probably faded (even if my own will not) I believe both land and sea options would now be available to me.

[John Zeissig]

Steven, I do use kneaded erasers exactly as you described. They're also handy for cleaning up the fingerprints all over the rest of the paper.

Sausalito. I was just having some fun with you guys by being deliberately opaque. I haven't actually set foot in the place in about ten years. It's one of those towns that's changed into something completely different than what it was forty years ago, when I first arrived in the area. You know the scenario: picturesque waterfront town with a large population of houseboaters and other assorted flotsam and jetsam, artists, assorted neurotics and general purpose screw-ups. It wasn't exactly a low rent place, but there was a huge niche for "local color". Then property values started to skyrocket and folks carrying jumbo mortgages decided the place could stand a little cleaning up. That fit right in with the plans of a raft of new regulatory agenctes, and I guess you can fill in the rest of the story. The last time I walked the streets there were a lot of galleries, but they were mostly devoted to Erte, Maxfield Parrish, or the doings of various marine mammals that are either very large or have bristly whiskers. There may be a Kincade gallery, I don't know. I'm not necessarily knocking these developments; it seems to be part of the life cycle of communities like Sausalito. But you've piqued my curiosity. If there's one thing in the art world that's even more ephemeral than artists, it's galleries. I'll have to check it out, there may be some wiggle room there for some version of the portrait trade. I'll report back with my findings.

Like Steven, I'm one of those boat afflicted types. Some time ago I realized I wasn't terribly fond of blue-water cruising, but I'm nuts about canals and rivers and semi-protected waterways. I've owned a 36' powerboat for the last 20 years. We haven't done much with it in the last few years, partly because we've been pretty much everywhere there is to go in these parts that's within range of liquid wind. We've done some canal cruising in Europe on a friend's boat, and one of my ambitions has been to truck our boat to Lake Michigan and do the Great Lakes, Trent-Severn and Rideau canals in Ontario, St. Lawrence to Richelieu, down to Champlain, NYS Barge Canal to Finger Lakes, back to Hudson River, down to N.Y., Jersey coast to Intracoastal Waterway, Chesapeake Bay (Crab Cakes!), Florida, West Coast FLA., Tennessee-Tombigbee to Tenn. River, to Ohio Riv., to Big Muddy, to Illinois Riv. and back into Lake Michigan. Naturally, all of this will be financed by peddling 10 min. charcoal portraits along the way! Sound like a plan?

In the meantime, I think we can get Mike in and out of Sausalito in a manner that befits a portrait artist of his stature.

Here's the rig. Tragic Magic, 36' Stephens, all mahogany on oak frames, built in 1955, powered by twin GMC 350's.

[Mike McCarty]

John, my present stature would afford me a back seat ticket on the following, with this young lady at the helm.

[Steven Sweeney]

Rats, now I have to own up in this boys' toys thread. After a youth full of dirt bikes, all of which I destroyed, this is how I got around Taipei (a good way to get killed in Taipei, by the way). My only ego consolation was that, because of trade barriers, most everything else (10 MILLION scooters in Taiwan) was even smaller. I could shock-cord a French easel on the back, though. (I mention that for context, so that this could be admitted to the Forum.)

[John Zeissig]

Mike, I was referring to your stature on the West Coast. As you know, no man is honored in his own country. Your reputation here is growing daily. On the other hand, riding pillion on a Harley does convey a certain status, doesn't it?

Steven, are you implying that we may have strayed off topic? But I have to ask. That vehicle: what is it?

[Steven Sweeney]

"Scooter", in the vernacular. Yamaha 125. (Trade barriers barred anything over 150.) It was "just" enough to take me, my son (208 lbs as I type this, though he's a freshman [now Texan] football player), his guitar, sometimes an amp, and several bags of groceries, up a mountain road to the house. So I guess it was okay.

Now I'll have to do a pencil sketch of it, to keep the thread on track.

[John Zeissig]

So that's a scooter! The neighbors say that we'll all be riding them here after California self-destructs, which, as you must be aware, is imminent. But there's an outside chance The Big One may hit before that happens, so nobody will notice the other problem. Scooter, huh? Looks interesting.

[Steven Sweeney]

So that's a scooter! The neighbors say that we'll all be riding them here after California self-destructs

Wait to see. I suspect your neighbors are thinking "Vespa", which is a smaller species.

As for self-destructing, we Minnesotans got through a term with Jesse the Body -- and we only got about a $400 million deficit to show for his "independent" largesse in paying out surplus refunds -- so maybe you should see what Arnold can do. (What CAN he do, other than "Be Back"? Maybe he can keep the lights on -- but how?)

BTW, don't answer that. Politics are off limits. Motorcycles, scooters, motoryachts -- close, very close -- but no politics.

[Steven Sweeney]

By the way, Mike, I'm not ignoring your Harley pic, I'm just so envious I can't type and now won't be able to sleep. Thanks a lot. Ditto John, your yacht. (Watch out for the Cuban Coast Guard!!)

[Mike McCarty]

Sometimes (portrait) she lets me (portrait) hold my arm out left or right (portrait) to show that we no longer (portrait) intend to go straight.