St. Louis in 24 Hours

I left late morning on Saturday and left St. Louis late morning on Sunday - yesterday.

My trip was to see what is a memorial exhibit of paintings by my pal and mentor Ed Boccia, who passed away in September at 91 years of age. St. Louis University, which owns 100 of his paintings, put on the exhibit - lovingly and beautifully displayed.

At a wonderful dinner in a small, fine Italian restaurant Saturday evening, with Ed's daughter and son-in-law (in from LA) and his 91 year-old widow, Madeleine, we spoke about the show and Ed and the passing of time and art and career and much else. I was in a wistful, nostalgic mood.

Ed is not much known out of St. Louis because so many momentary prejudices in the Art world do not allow room for his kind of greatness: painters who understand the language of the discipline as it has passed onward over centuries and who are able to master the craft and wrestle it forward into a visual language that speaks to the personal present as well as all time. I know there are zillions of great artists out there who are fantastic at traditional mediums. But in my small universe, Ed is the best practitioner of the craft of painting that I know. I have been honored by his friendship and advice since having him as a professor at Washington University 500 years ago (so it seems...).

I do not flatter myself by comparing my work to Edward Boccia or anyone else. Yet I feel that in many ways I carry an invisible torch on into the future. I feel blessed to be able to see into Life and translate what I find into visual art. Ed compared Painting to Praying and I cannot disagree. He was fortunate to have a tenured position at a prestigious university that allowed summers off. I am fortunate to have the stubbornness to continue painting despite the lack of time and money and interest from New York galleries. I am just beginning to understand Painting after many decades of working it....the magic and mystery and illumination is still there to be discovered by those who venture into the known unknowable.