The KintlaLake home never will be mistaken for a fine-art gallery. When my wife and I blended our households a few years ago, however, the work of a few bona fide artists did make the cut.
While visiting friends in Vermont in 1999, I was given a personally signed Cynthia Price lithograph as a birthday present. The artist herself, whom I'd never met, was there to share in the impromptu celebration, which included a champagne hayride (only in Vermont) and other surprises.These days, Cynthia's work hangs just off our kitchen, where it daily rekindles warm memories of cool rides through the New England countryside.
Michael Lichter has combined his love of motorcycling with his immense artistic talent -- so not only do I admire his photography, I'm also insanely jealous of the man. I had the privilege of working with him on an exhibition of his work several years ago, we became friends, and we still connect occasionally at motorcycle shows.A large print of "After the Storm," arguably Michael's signature image, adorns a wall in our living room, and it remains one of the most evocative and inspiring photographs I've ever seen.
Each summer, the city of Columbus hosts a giant outdoor arts-and-crafts show, and it was there that I met Massachusetts-based artist Bruce Peeso. Having moved back to my native Ohio a year before, I found that Bruce's work captured perfectly the joy I felt in being home again.
Many of Bruce's paintings reflect what I'd call a "pillbox perspective," and I recall telling him so at the show that day. He smiled and told me that he preferred what a woman once said about the unusual format: "It looks like you're trapped inside a Coke machine, and you paint while looking out through the coin slot."After much debate -- all of it between my head and my heart -- I ended up taking home one of Bruce's originals, and dear as it was, I've never regretted the decision. Each time I gaze through the artist's eyes across that rural landscape, it reminds me why I'm glad to be here in the heartland, my home.
