Our good friend and spiritual artist Barry Mack gave us a tour of his gallery in Portland the other day. Here is Barry greeting us, with one of his stunning pieces of art showcased on the landing above him.
My Lovely Bride was admiring this fabulous painting, wondering where in The Coach she might hang it…(For more of Barry’s work, see www.BarryMackArt.com)
During our visit, Suzanne shot a short promotional video with Thubten, who is a social media consultant who has advised her on new media like Twitter and Facebook.
After the video shoot, Barry took us to Stickmen Brewery & Skewery, the only commercial establishment on the shores of beautiful Lake Oswego. It happens to be a craft beer establishment, so I felt compelled to order the flight of 5 beers to sample their extensive inventory… while everyone else drank cranberry juice! (In the photo Suzanne is saying, “That’s five beers. Count ’em: five!”)
During our respite on the shore, we taught Thubten and Barry how to do our “Space Cadets” impersonation; after a few false starts, they were catching on…
The next day found us at the Portland Art Museum (PAM) for a special tour with Barry (shown here) and his sister Sandy. Barry explained that this sculpture by Joel Shapiro was titled “Portland”. We tried to determine why, but as with many modern sculptures, it was hard to figure out.
My Lovely Bride had her own title for this work: “Portland in Ruins”…
The museum also had some interesting Pacific Northwest Indian artifacts; I’ll be ordering a copy of this outfit for our next formal dinner out. I think it’s much more cool than a tux.
Okay, back to modern abstract art, which is Barry’s specialty. Suzanne and I both liked this piece, entitled “On/Off”, but it wasn’t for sale, at least not at any price I could afford. It was a real treat having an artist give us a museum tour, and I was able to pass the pop quiz that I had worried about for weeks after Barry sent me a book about modern art in anticipation of our visit …
There was also a special exhibit of art brought over from the Louvre in Paris, including Bosio’s more traditional sculpture of Hercules fighting the River God Achelous. Bosio is also famous for his four horse chariot (quadriga) which adorns the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Following our museum tour, we adjourned to the Charthouse restaurant high on a hillside overlooking the Willamette River and Portland for an exceptional seafood dinner, made even more special by Sandy and Barry’s wonderful company. Sandy is very spiritual as well, and is very interested in astrology, a subject I am woefully ignorant of. It was delightful sharing their company for the day, and we look forward to getting together again soon, perhaps back in Florida.
Finally, I regret to admit that I am in The Doghouse. While we were away at the museum and dinner, I had turned off the hot water heater, both to conserve fuel and as a safety precaution. After we returned home, we went for runs separately so as not to leave the puppies alone for an even longer time. I forgot to turn the hot water heater back on, and when MLB went to shower, she had to bathe in rather cold water… needless to say, she was not amused. As I was cooling down, she was drawing my bath… with a cupful of ice cubes. “Isn’t that interesting!”