Saturday, July 31, 2010
RANDOM LURE
this was made so you could put a live minnow in the bait so it would not die on a hook.
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
Big OLD Artistic BALL OF STRING Seeks PURPOSE IN LIFE-$49
I looked around at the things I’ve accumulated – mostly things I intended to sell someday. Suddenly it dawned on me: I’m quirky and have surrounded myself with likeminded objects. (Don’t smirk. Objects, at least here on our little dirt farm, DO seem to have minds of their own. They wander around in a room with a little assistance, eventually find a place they feel comfortable, and there they settle in.)
This big old ball of string from a local estate is starting its maneuvering, and I’m afraid it’s going to find a home. There is but one cure: eBay. I’ll show you what it’s done around here, and maybe you have a place where it will also feel comfortable.
The ball is 9” in diameter and weighs 5 pounds. I found that silver or silver plated Victorian stand in my sock drawer. Since the ball sits on it without danger of rolling off on the floor, I’ll include it with the string. (Around here, with a wild and curious puppy and a 17 pound cat, the ball would last about as long as that proverbial “snowball in Hell.”)
For a spell it stood out front of a carrying tray once owned by one of the first TV repairmen in Cincinnati. I’ll be listing that on eBay – probably today.
It rolled over and tried to become a centerpiece for two heavy crosses I made out of cement, antique plate shards and pieces of sterling, keys and whatever I’d saved in a jar. A friend asked if they were folk art. I said, “No. They’re crosses I made out of cement, broken plates, keys, locks and silver things I found interesting for one reason or another.”
Those too, will end up here on eBay.
Last night it found its way into a little corner of Arts & Crafts stuff.
Then, when I rolled out of bed this morning I saw that “She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed” had added a ball of old green marble. Enough is enough! The string just has to go. Like a stray puppy or kitten, if you keep them around too long you’ll become attached, and I’ve run out of room for attachments.
RANDOM KITTEN PRON
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE Oil Painting by HELWIG - Ohio-$109
This is the second time I’ve owned and am now selling again this wonderful Rocky Mountain landscape by Arthur Louis Helwig (1899 – 1976). I was tickled to find it, thrilled to sell it, and happy to take it back on a trade after a couple years. I’ve always liked it a lot. For one thing, I love pallet knife work when it’s done this skillfully, and Helwig was a master.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE Oil Painting by HELWIG - Ohio-$109
This is the second time I’ve owned and am now selling again this wonderful Rocky Mountain landscape by Arthur Louis Helwig (1899 – 1976). I was tickled to find it, thrilled to sell it, and happy to take it back on a trade after a couple years. I’ve always liked it a lot. For one thing, I love pallet knife work when it’s done this skillfully, and Helwig was a master.
It is a large painting, so, since I haven’t moved from this little dirt farm shack into the mansion I dream about at night, I still have no place to hang it. If I did, I would.
It is a square painting, of which you see very few, and it measures 35” overall. The oil painting on a Masonite panel is 30” square. So it’s a big, colorful piece of work with paint so thick and luscious it looks almost edible.
Helwig was one of the most widely known artists in Cincinnati, Ohio, having taught at the Cincinnati Art Academy for thousands of years. He was also president of the Cincinnati Art Club from 1939 until 1941. He has exhibited at museums throughout Europe as well as major cities in the U.S., many times bringing home the gold. One of his teachers back around 1912-1914 was Bessie Hoover Wessel, wife of Herman Wessel, both attained fame as Cincinnati artists.
I may be wrong. It’s happened before, but this is what I think.
Helwig and his friend, Wilbur Adams, an industrial designer, took an eight week sketching trek out to the Rocky Mountains back around 1926. I think this painting is the result of that trip. He may have actually created the work much later, but the scene looks like that area to me.
He must have specialized in rocks, ripples, eddies and boulders, and I’m glad he did. I’m thinking “trout.”
If I had the talent to do work like that, I’d drag strangers in off the street. “Get in here a minute. I want to show you what I just did.”
Friday, July 30, 2010
RANDOM DISASTER
i looked up this 1800's train wreck when i found a gravestone for those they couldn't identify after the fire. it's the ashtabula bridge train wreck. wiki has an article about it and it's on the internets.
RANDOM NEW NEW HOARD
this was another awesome deal. one side letters, the other a train car. the listing was for almost a complete set. sigh. no QqRr. but just wait. i know WHY nobody else bid. stupid stupid. gotta be able to SEE the treasure.
RANDOM 341 OBJECT
Lg Old OIL PAINTING Lady & Exotic Bird H. LEDYARD TOWLE-$63
H. Ledyard Towle ((1890 - 1973) was a well known portrait and landscape artist in New York City. If he did your portrait in oil, you were likely rich. This particular painting is quite large, and it remains in the original frame.
From what little I’ve read about Towle, he traveled outside New York for commissioned portraits, as well as for landscapes. I’ve seen some he did of famous women in Pennsylvania.
Overall = 31 ¼” by 41 ¼”
Painting on Stretched Canvas = 26” by 36”
See? I told you it was big.
I don’t know who she is, but you can bet she was in the Blue Book. Regardless, there are several things I find fascinating about this portrait. The first is the exotic bird on the wallpaper in the background. I found a couple other portraits by Towle on the Internet with birds and a lady. One was a parrot, and it brought a lot of money at one of the fancy-smancy big city auctions.
Another unusual feature of the picture is the texture of the wallpaper. Maybe it’s drapery material, but you can not only see but also actually feel the lateral weave of the fabric. It’s easier to see in the next image.
There are only some minor dings on the frame. I wouldn’t do a thing to it.
