Chef Derrick

[Steven Sweeney]

Hey, Mike, nice job and a great story behind it. I'm sure he was tickled with the "surprise." The artist paints an artist. Maybe now that he sees that you and your camera are no threat, he'll settle down and let you catch him in the act of some culinary feats in the kitchen.

Good to see you're still on the circuit. I'm in the process of converting my living room into a studio (up from the basement), in preparation for leaving the day-job's cubicle and the day's two-hour commute and taking on the painting and drawing full-time. Good luck with that, I say.

Did I mention my banjo? No? Perhaps that's best. It's bad enough that my dog has to listen to it. I'm hoping she'll be a good studio mate, since I'm moving into her territory.

Cheers

[Mike McCarty]

So it was you I saw on the porch with that banjo.

I've heard that the definition of a gentleman is: a man who could play the bagpipes, but chose not to. I guess depending on your skill level with that banjo the same could apply.

I'm on the intermittent circuit. I'm alternating between painting, writing and making omelets.

I watched Jacques Pepin, Julia Child's old running mate, make a French omelet and I wasted dozens eggs trying to do it myself.

Sounds like your art production is fixing to increase substantially. A two-hour commute - what a man's gotta come to to serve the law.

Here's a watercolor that our friend in Madrid, Carlito Ygoa, sent me. This is by the artist Joseph Zbucvik. I think he's foreign.