Art!

So Amanda and I became art supporters over the weekend.  Not that I've ever had anything against art -- I grew up surrounded by it.  But I've never really held an appreciation for the intrinsic value of art.  We went down to this festive little monthly event called First Fridays.  It's a really cool demonstration of the revitalization of Downtown Richmond and the local support of the artist community.  It's also the bread & butter of local artists.

Basically, you just walk up and down Broad Street from one art gallery to the next.  There are exhibits of all forms of art, and it's nowhere near as snooty as I had feared it might be.

We saw some fantastic stuff, most of which was priced for display in the Louvre.  We also saw some disappointing pieces, many of which were similarly priced.  But there was this one little gallery -- really a hole in the wall -- where our weekend got up-ended.  We wandered in with the Kimmelshues (who informed us of this groovy little event) and saw the most compelling landscape piece.  Based on its size (3' x 5'), we figured it was priced well into the thousands.  There were also two smaller pieces by the same artist (Christopher Carroll) that really moved me.  Bummed to have found something so beautiful (yes, bummed, because nothing that good is affordable), we moved on to the next gallery, where I was thoroughly underwhelmed.

But, dang it, I just couldn't get that landscape out of my mind.  So I went back and asked the guy how much he wanted for the piece.  $500!!  I couldn't believe it.  I asked him to hold the piece, and we went and bought it on Sunday.  This thing is absolutely perfect over our sofa, and completely fills the most barren wall in our house.

Go buy this guy's work.  It is awesome, and he's a really nice guy.  Buy it now!  Now, dammit!