BLONDE ON THE RUN BY R.L.HUFFSTUTTER

ANOTHER PICTURE PERFECT DAY WITH A PICTURE PERFECT SUBJECT

AN ESSAY ON AND ABOUT PERFECT PICTURES AND FAME AS AN ARTIST By Robert L. Huffstutter

AN ESSAY ON AND ABOUT PERFECT PICTURES AND FAME AS AN ARTIST By Robert L. Huffstutter

Raol Dufy was one of my early inspirations. Why? Because his work was not picture perfect and my work was far from picture perfect, I found it easy and pleasant to associate with his work. I was only 8 or 9 years of age at the time, so I had much to learn about the art of NOT doing "picture perfect" work. That's to say, there are those who are truly artists who can do work that is hard to differentiate from a photograph. To say that because their work is photographic it isn't art would be shallow and totally wrong; for those who feel that accuracy and likeness to a point of perfection is art, it is, indeed art.

For me, impressionism and expressionism reign supreme. I am not a Kodak and my hand is not a Canon; therefore, it is what I see with my eyes that is important to me and to those who care to view my work.

This paragraph is an example of how one can waste one's time when one becomes too involved in art reviews and explanations of artistic concepts. Nonetheless, it is all within the realm of the art world and one can decide how much time one wants to spend on reviews, explanations and simply dipping the brush in the water and painting. For me, it is a combination of these joys that makes me feel good about art, makes me feel like an "artist" and thus satisfies this intense love I have for art. There are many, I am certain, who share my feelings about art and the world of art.

Long ago, I learned that only a few fortunate people become famous; I accepted that fact and continued painting. It is the joy of painting that keeps my mind busy with new work. If fame would come my way, I would welcome such fate, however, I am not building bridges toward fame. Do you suppose that Van Gogh ever toyed with the idea of fame and fortune?

FUNERALS I REMEMBER FROM CHILDHOOD

"That Marine didn't move a muscle
throughout the entire service," my
uncle said. Perhaps those weren't
his exact words, but the memorial
service for an Uncle I never recall
seeing took place in 1947, so the
words might have been a little
different, but the thought is what I
remembered and am now recalling
again.

THE SUMMER OF 1959 AND THAT SONG, EL PASO

HEADED WEST TOWARD THE GOLDEN STATE ON THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC'S PASSENGER TRAIN, THE GOLDEN STATE, OR IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE SANTA FE, I CAN'T RECALL FOR SURE, BUT I WAS HEADED WEST. WHEN IT STOPPED IN EL PASO, I KNEW I COULD MAKE MY SUMMER TRIP A BIT MORE EXCITING IF I COULD JUST DELAY MY JOURNEY FOR A DAY, VISIT OLD MEXICO, JUAREZ, BUT EVERYONE CALLED MEXICO "OLD MEXICO" BACK THEN. I GUESS IT WAS TO DISTINGUISH IT FROM "NEW MEXICO." AND BY THE WAY, I RECALL WHEN BOTH ALASKA AND HAWAII BECAME STATES. I WAS COLLECTING STAMPS THEN AND PURCHASED BLOCKS OF FOUR, BUT THAT IS NOT PRUDENT TO THIS STORY OF MY FIRST NIGHT IN MEXICO. WHAT BECAME PRUDENT, HOWEVER, WAS THE RESTRAINED AND SLIGHTLY HESITANT WELCOME I RECEIVED AT THE UNION STATION IN LOS ANGLES UPON MY ARRIVAL, EXACTLY 24 HOURS LATE, OR LATER, DEPENDING UPON HOW ONE LIKES TO RATIONALIZE ONE'S BEHAVIOR AND IRRESPONSIBILITY.

AUNT MARY AND GLORIA WERE NOT IMPRESSED BY MY EXCUSE FOR ARRIVING LATE. IT COULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OFF AS ONE OF THE FIRES OF SPRING THAT LINGERED INTO SUMMER, BUT NEITHER MARIETTA OR GLORIA HAD A SENSE OF HUMOR.SADLY, OUR KINSHIP ENDED SHORTLY THEREAFTER. WHEN GLORIA'S HUSBAND, JACK, ASSUMED I WANTED TO WORK TWELVE HOUR DAYS AT HIS SHRIMP BOAT DRIVE IN, WE PARTED COMPANY AND I FOUND NEW FRIENDS IN VENICE, CALLED VENICE WEST IN THE LATE 50S. THAT WAS THE LAST TIME I SAW MARIETTA, GLORIA OR JACK. IF AUNT MARIETTA IS STILL LIVING, SHE WOULD BE GETTING CLOSE TO BEING ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD. FAMILIES JUST DRIFT APART.
MY TRIP ACROSS THE BORDER WAS FUN. IT WAS WRONG. IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN, I WOULDN'T; I CAUSED SOME FAMILY MEMBERS TOO MUCH GRIEF BY DROPPING OUT OF SIGHT FOR 24 HOURS. BUT THAT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING OF MY DISAPPEARING ACTS AS TIME ACCELERATED. NOW, IN RETROSPECT, THERE IS MUCH I WOULD UNDO IF I COULD. I CAN'T, THUS IT HAUNTS ME AT CERTAIN TIMES, THOSE TIMES BEING THE TIMES WHEN I WAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND FEEL LIKE I HAVE JUST BEEN VISITING WITH AN AUNT OR AN UNCLE, ALWAYS ONE HAS BEEN LONG DECEASED. I DOUBT I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO IS VISITED BY DEAD UNCLES AND AUNTS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
THE CONDUCTOR GRINNED WHEN I ASKED HIM IF I COULD CATCH THE TRAIN THE NEXT DAY. "SONNY, YOU SURE CAN, JUST BE HERE AT THE SAME TOMORROW."
ONCE OUTSIDE THE STATION, I HAILED A TAXI TO THE BORDER. I MUST HAVE LOOKED LIKE THE FOOL I WAS WITH TWO SUITCASES, WALKING OVER THE BRIDGE. "CHICLETS, CHICLETS, MISTER, JUST ONE NICKEL," THE STREET CHILDREN, MOSTLY BOYS, HAWKED THEIR PRODUCT. ONCE AT THE END OF THE BRIDGE I FELT LIKE I HAD MADE A SERIOUS FOREIGN JOURNEY. FINALLY, ANOTHER COUNTRY. JAMES BALDWIN TURNED THAT INTO A BESTSELLER IN THE 60S. IT WAS GOOD. I UNDERSTOOD HIS SPIRIT OR THOUGHT I DID.

A FEW ADVERTISEMENTS FOR MYSELF

SINCE I HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WRITING AND EDITING PHOTOS, IT IS ONLY FAIR TO SHARE A FEW OF MY FUN PHOTOS WITH YOU. IF THIS IS PERMITTED, THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A FEW ADVERTISEMENTS FOR MYSELF. REMEMBER NORMAN MAILER? I BELIEVE HE IS ON THE LIST OF THE DECEASED, BUT OF COURSE, HIS WORDS LIVE ON, MORTALS SPEAKING IMMORTAL WORDS. THAT IS ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT THERE IS THE COMFORT ZONE TO CONSIDER. NOT TOO COOL AND DEFINITELY NOT TOO WARM. NO MATTER WHAT ONE BELIEVES, WHEN ONE REACHES THAT Y IN THE ROAD, THERE IS USUALLY SOME CONCERN ABOUT EXACTLY HOW LONG ETERNITY IS...


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HELLO BUDDY NEWS TODAY

BROWSE THROUGH ANY OF THESE PICTURE PERFECT PHOTO BLOGS AND I WILL FEEL YOU HAVE REWARDED ME FOR SOME OF MY EARLY HOUR APPOINTMENTS WITH MYSELF, WHEN I AM IN MY WRITE MIND. OKAY, BROWSE SEVERAL OF THESE AND GET BACK WITH ME.