A few weeks ago I started this journey with the hope of opening up a forum for the frank discussion of art. I think it has gone quite well. So, let us continue hand in hand down this golden path of enlightenment.

I really worked hard on this

During most weekends, I have the good fortune to spend my time organizing small plein air panting classes for a few the artistically inclined locals of Muskegon Michigan. It is not a real big thing, usually about 5 or 6 of the same people each weekend. We meet at the Mr. Quick on Airport road on Saturdays at 1pm. I'm not a fan of a parade of cars trying to keep up with me as I find pretty places to paint, so everyone crowds into my van and off we go. Well, it's not like a van full of seats type of van. My van is one of those very spartan windowless white work vans with only two seats and crank windows. The van is a 'shotgun' calling wet dream. To be honest, I am surprised that my little group of artists have returned every week for a bumpy ride sitting on the bare steel floor of my van. But, they have been returning and we all have been painting like little crack smoking chimps.


The idea of leading a gang of artists, taking possession of their god given abilities and showcasing it in the wild west of Michigan, had been a dream of mine for quite a long time. My first step to realize my dream was a two pronged attack that entailed a Craigslist post and a paper plate sign posted at my local Plumb's shopping market. The first three weeks were a little slow and I began to think that I was only spinning my wheels. But then I started to get phone calls and a few emails. People were really interested in painting and my dream was maturing. Life was becoming very exciting.


Getting the first gang together for a paining trip was quite an adventure. A few of my posse are older and don't 'do' e-mails and are not really adept at the modern skill of leaving voice mails. The first to respond to my paper plate signage pinned to the communal board at Plumb's ended up calling my cell three times within an hour Sunday morning and never left a voice mail. After waking up, I saw that someone had called me from a 231 area code and redialed the number. It rang for a very long time and I hung up. An hour later, the phone call was still nagging me and I redialed the number. It still rang for a very long time. This time I let it ring. Someone very old answered.


We spoke for quite some time about her marriage, her late husband and her son who lives with her in Muskegon Heights. Her name was Kay and she sounded rather excited about the idea of painting and asked what she should bring to our little outing. I told her that I had not scheduled a date yet and she handed the phone to her son when I tried to explain what she may need in the way of art supplies. Her son, Wayne, was not very talkative but was very tenacious at writing down my recommended list of art supplies. "Can we get this shit at Hobby Lobby", he asked, "How much will all this shit cost?". I told him that if he uses the printable coupon that Hobby Lobby posts on their website and shop during a sale, they could get most of it pretty cheap. Our conversation dwindled down and I informed him that as soon as I get a few more people to sign on that I will be calling Kay and scheduling our paint date. I don't think he liked the idea of me 'dating' his mother and explained that if I had that 'shit' in mind, he would 'fucking' kill me. I calmed him, "NO NO NO, it's not like that kind of date. I meant schedule a day for painting".

SHOTGUN

I had one person in the bag and thought that it would be fun if there were at least 8 people in the group. But, I would settle for three.


Over the phone, Bob sounded like a very effeminate man. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I just found his voice interesting. Bob had contacted via an email in response to my Craigslist posting. As with Kay, Bob seemed very excited to be included in our little gang of painters. He informed me that he had always been a little bit of a closeted artist and felt it was his time come out. We spoke for a short time. When asked about art supplies, Bob stated that he believed he had everything that he would need. "Good", I said and then told him that I would contact him again when we have a nice group of volunteers signed on. He again stated how excited he was and that he would await my call. 


A few weeks passed with out a phone call or an email. Kay and Bob had called quite a bit. I felt bad telling them that I was having issues finding more people. Bob suggested that I post another Craigslisting and I thought that was an empire idea. Not only did I post another Craigslisting, I also replaced my paper plate sign at the Plumb's supermarket. This new one had a magazine photo of Bob Ross at his easel. It was very dapper. 


It took about a week and a half for my phone to ring. Her name was Susan and she had seen my paper plate sign and ripped off one of my telephone tassels. She was very curious. Although we had a nice chat, Susan was not quite sold on my dream. I could feel all the work I had done to solidify my dream about to go up in flames when Susan asked how much it would cost. She was under the impression that she would have to pay for the class and she had been burnt before on art classes that did not measure up. When I told her that the only thing she would need were a small collection of art supplies, she told me that she was 'in'. "That's great", I said, "Let me call Kay and Bob and schedule our first day together". When I hung up, I thought I was going to wet my pants, I was so happy. I had a real art posse, bitch.


Several days and about twenty phone calls between Bob, Kay and Susan later, we had our day and time set in stone. Using Mapquest, I was able to determine that the Mr. Quick on Airport road in Norton Shores was  an ideal spot to meet. The second Saturday of June was selected and invitations were convinced. There were no dropouts and everyone said they had all the needed art supplies. 


Game on bitches.