The Rise and Fall of a Coffeehouse Rock Star God
The Beginning
Spring 1993. I was 19. I had been injured on the job, working as a night stocker at Tidyman's grocery store. I left that job on doctor's orders and was on un-employment. I'd been given Hydrocodone for pain. I was bored. I kept pretty strange hours- usually sleeping from 10am 'till about 6 at night. I'd been taking advantage of the spare time and free drugs to pursue my artwork. I'd taken a departure from my usual mono-chromatic acryllic painting and was experimenting with pastel chalk. On this particular morning, at around 4am, I decided to pack up my stuff and head to the cool new coffee house downtown. I was pleased to find it virtually empty. I ordered my usual and began to work on my latest interperetation of a spooky looking woman I'd seen in the last issue of Vogue. I was hunched over my work, my A-line cut hair draping my peripheral vision. I became aware that someone was standing over me. It was the owner of the coffee shop. He was intently watching me work. I pushed my "eggplant" colored bangs out of my face and turned to acknowledge him. He introduced himself as Paul. I smiled and shook his hand. He was very excited about my artwork and asked if I had more. I showed him some of the other drawings I'd done. Much to my suprise, he offered me a space on the wall to sell them. I'd never intended that, but I figured "what the hell". I had them matted and sealed in plastic, then put them up for sale at $60.00 each. Two days later, I got a call from Paul saying that two had sold. I was in utter shock..... To be continued.....
The Beginning
Spring 1993. I was 19. I had been injured on the job, working as a night stocker at Tidyman's grocery store. I left that job on doctor's orders and was on un-employment. I'd been given Hydrocodone for pain. I was bored. I kept pretty strange hours- usually sleeping from 10am 'till about 6 at night. I'd been taking advantage of the spare time and free drugs to pursue my artwork. I'd taken a departure from my usual mono-chromatic acryllic painting and was experimenting with pastel chalk. On this particular morning, at around 4am, I decided to pack up my stuff and head to the cool new coffee house downtown. I was pleased to find it virtually empty. I ordered my usual and began to work on my latest interperetation of a spooky looking woman I'd seen in the last issue of Vogue. I was hunched over my work, my A-line cut hair draping my peripheral vision. I became aware that someone was standing over me. It was the owner of the coffee shop. He was intently watching me work. I pushed my "eggplant" colored bangs out of my face and turned to acknowledge him. He introduced himself as Paul. I smiled and shook his hand. He was very excited about my artwork and asked if I had more. I showed him some of the other drawings I'd done. Much to my suprise, he offered me a space on the wall to sell them. I'd never intended that, but I figured "what the hell". I had them matted and sealed in plastic, then put them up for sale at $60.00 each. Two days later, I got a call from Paul saying that two had sold. I was in utter shock..... To be continued.....