"Rich Oliver"

What a fun one this was!  After the 2010 Art Show at Infineon Raceway,
I contacted Rich Oliver.  He was in the art show with us, but Rich is
extremely busy during the weekend and very difficult to find.  So, I sent
him an email and asked if he wanted to trade paintings with me.  All
weekend long I stared at this particular piece he had in his display, and
knew that was to be mine!

I have always wanted to paint Rich, and he said the trade was a brilliant
idea.  The progress of the painting was fun.  I would send Rich photos
of what I had been doing all along the process.  It most certainly helped
to build the suspense about the swapping of art!  The 24''x36'' acrylic on
canvas was completed in September of 2010.

Now, shipping an original painting is kind of a pain in the butt.  Those
shipping boxes are ridiculously expensive.  Therefore we decided to
take a road trip to see Rich and Karin in Auberry California.  It's 5 hours
away from us, but my goodness, what a great trip.  The Oliver's
graciously spent 2 1/2 hours talking to us about paint, painting, riding,
the school, life and all that great stuff in between.  I'm sure it could have
turned into a very long evening with even more stories to share.  But
another 5 hours on the road awaited us.

The art swap accured.  Rich is shown with his great paint and the piece
of Rich's hangs here at the shop.  Come on by and see his abstract
work.  I love it, and I'm so thankful for the great experience.