Before we get started, let me ask you something: Did you miss me last week?
I MISSED YOU TOO!
OK, seriously, this is really what I want to ask you: Have you ever wanted something so bad that you can taste it?
You want it so bad that, not only can you taste it and chew on it, but you can practically feel that savory wad of whatever-it-is sliding down yer gullet and filling yer belly with the sweet satisfaction of spiritual, emotional and intellectual satiation!
Now, can you imagine wanting something so unbelievably badly that you feel you've been tasting it, chewing it and practically swallowing it down until it's become a part of you for nigh on about 20 years?
Of course you can!
Nurturing dreams
That's what they call having a DREAM!
Kind of like that dream I have of someday having tighter, firmer abs and perky pecs.
You know, for years whilst I was gainfully employed by the very newspaper which you hold in your sleepy, trembling hands, I visited hundreds, maybe thousands, of schools in Montana and Wyoming giving speeches to students of all ages. Together with my pal Mark Henckel of the Gazette, we encouraged children and adults alike at these presentations to seek, nurture and nourish their dreams - because their dreams, like most precious things in life, are fragile and easily lost or broken.
Inspired youngsters
I often wonder how many of those kids, perhaps inspired by our talks, are even now climbing some lofty tower of their dreams, maybe with a sniper rifle, or are locked away somewhere to keep society safe at night. Maybe even some of them DID follow their dreams, much to Mark's chagrin, to become artists when they grew up, and might even now be illustrating some lonely boxcar or downtown dumpster.
How gratifying that my message reached someone!
But what about Mark and I, you ask?
Did we touch ourselves with our own message?
I know that it has always been Mark Henckel's dream to be a highly-popular, widely read and extremely well-paid outdoors editor for a large metropolitan newspaper.
But me?
Well, as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I've always wanted to be a painter.
Yes, a life of obscurity, frequent depression, Top-Ramen and living below the poverty level is what I'VE always wanted! That's the life for ME!
Every painter, though, wants more. Even me. A painter wants to be ACCEPTED as a painter - which usually means being represented by a real live GALLERY.
Call me crazy, but, like SO many other artists, I've always wanted to be represented by a gallery in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
ANY gallery in Jackson ... I didn't care which one. Yeah, right. DREAM ON.
I could wallpaper my house with the rejection letters I've gotten from Jackson galleries over the last 20 years.
My work, in Jackson, would be, like, IMPOSSIBLE.
Next door to impossible
So instead, I put on my very best tie (which just happens to be my ONLY tie), packed up my fresh paintings and headed for Park City, Utah, which is just NEXT to impossible.
The first two galleries I visited were very kind and complimentary of my work, but said "come back when you learn to paint with a brush, instead of a spatula."
The third gallery, the last one on my list to visit, was the one which I deemed least likely to accept my work, because it was such a NICE gallery. I was bummed.
EMT visit
Spirits sagging, I dragged myself and my tie into the Meyer Gallery and propped my paintings up before the owners, Russ and Susan Jones. They gazed long and hard at my offerings as I stood silently pouting in the corner. Then they looked at each other, and, turning to me, said, "We really LOVE your TIE! And your paintings aren't bad either! Can you have about 20 oils for our Jackson gallery by the end of July? Then we'll need some for here, of course, and for the Scottsdale gallery, in time for the winter season. 'Kay?"
Once the EMTs had revived me, I slowly began to realize what had happened. I hadn't dreamt it after all! It was real! I had actually been accepted for representation by a fine, reputable gallery in Jackson Hole, Park City and Snottsdale - er, Scottsdale!
I wanted to share my good news with you, my dear readers, so that you would be the first to know!
Well, um, you're right in there among the first! The first 100,000 or so!
This means that some dreams actually DO come true - and this also means that I've actually got to get to work now on some paintings. And who knows - obviously, anything's possible - I might even end up with tighter, firmer abs!
Originally published June 1, 2002.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
John Potter, an Ojibwe from Wisconsin, is a gifted artist, illustrator and writer. After more than 20 years as an editorial artist and columnist with the Billings Gazette (Billings, Mont.), he now spends his full time and energy on his oils, painting the landscapes of the West that he loves the most. His work can be seen online at www.johnpotterstudio.com.
