I was sitting at my Director’s desk in the Community Art Gallery on the Cloister’s second floor. It had been a quiet morning until a gentleman walked in and pointed at me, yelling, “YOU!”
I felt like I was the unwilling participant in that scenario where Moe or Curly or Larry or someone said, “slowly, I turned…”
He paced back and forth in the Gallery, pausing to repeat over and over, “All I got was a divorce and,,, your three prints!” at which time his hand would swirl in the air and his accusing finger would slash in a treacherous direction toward frightened me.
After exploding his accusatory remark for the final of four times, he glared at me one last time and stomped out of the Gallery leaving me in stunned silence.
He had not introduced himself. I did not recognize him as a buyer from one of my outdoor art shows so I knew where he obtained those three prints.
My Uncle Frank and Aunt Adrienne were taking lessons in oil painting in my downtown classes. They were not blessed with children so we got the bright idea of continuing the Kernen name through art prints.
Hence my adventure with painting, “Kernen’s Falls Autumn” and their involvement with joining me in promoting the print at local outdoor exhibitions.
Uncle Frank happened to mention the print when he was making a deposit at Southern Federal Savings and Loan and from there came the offer, “….it would be a good idea to present customers a choice of selecting one of three prints for making a deposit of a certain amount.”
“Scotty’s Retreat” became the second print and when the Mill painting could not be advertised in its true location due to my not being able to gain permission from the family owners at that time, we submitted our snow scene as, “Winter At The Mill”.
Southern Federal began an intense TV deposit advertising campaign and that’s where the fun began for my angry art collector.
Southern Federal added his deposits and he gained a divorce and my three prints.
I hope to meet the aforementioned gentleman in better circumstances. I’d like to know how he framed my three prints. I always ask collectors that question. I am thinking it is a safer, more pleasant way to open our conversation.