Wasting Time & Talent in Puerto Rico

I know. I know. It has been a while since our last report. Apologies all around. But, I mean, we had a good excuse. You see, we were wasting time and talent here in Puerto Rico. Because along with her usual mountain of luggage, Lorri brought our favorite Southern Iowa Watercolor Artist, Nash Cox, home on the plane with her. 

Like any lost puppy she brings home, I explained to her that while we couldn't keep Nash, we could take care of him for a while until someone back home claimed him. It took two full weeks, but eventually his wife, Terry, said enough was enough and made him go back home. 

All of us being creative types, we did the only logical thing we could think of, and none of us accomplished anything having anything at all to do with art or writing for two weeks. The picture above is of Lorri and I in our new hats, and Nash wearing his out of control hippy mullet (he likes that I refer to it as a mullet and secretly believes the trend is coming back). We are having a drink in Old San Juan.

Here we are having another drink in Rincon. Lorri and I are without our new hats. Nash still has the mullet. 

Appetizers. Another Drink. Mullet. Old San Juan again.

Here is Lorri having yet another drink in Rincon. It was basically a coconut filled with straight rum. She made a face like she had just stuffed sour gummy worms into her mouth after every drink. But she is a trooper and managed to get it all down before falling off her stool. 

Here is Nash and I in Old San Juan wondering if there was somewhere nearby we could get a drink. Walking there is such thirsty work. 

And here is Nash sporting his mullet and new handmade surf board necklace. He doesn't actually surf, but the necklace ensured he would bond with everyone here on the island who drives a VW with a board rack on top so he could score pictures of their cars. 

This is a photo from a beach in San Juan. I had literally just told him when we pulled up that he probably shouldn't run out onto the beach or he would be covered in sand the entire rest of the day while we walked around. This was taken of Nash like, ten seconds later. 

Finally, on like day 12 of our two weeks together, we got down to the business at hand of finding glass and hanging our collection of hand delivered Nash Cox original watercolor paintings on our wall. 

Oh. I'm sorry friends from Chariton, Iowa. Did you dream of owning this iconic original watercolor painting on the Chariton square? Too bad suckers. It's on our wall now. 

So is this award winning piece of the street scene in Des Moines.

And this one of the old truck behind the barn. 

If you have never viewed Nash Cox art up close and personal, you need to. The details are stunning and practically unheard of in the watercolor world. If you are in the Chariton area, you can see his work in his studio above the square on the same level as the Goldsmith Law Office on the far left. Look for the old truck sitting out front to know the artist is in.

Nash's Truck parked on the North side of the Chariton square 

is a pretty good indication the artist is in.

Lucky for you, you can still purchase prints ranging in size and price from $25 to $120 at his etsy shop here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/NashCoxStudio?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=746852748

You can also purchase original pieces or commission a Nash Cox piece of your very own. Original pieces run in the $1,000-3,000 range for most works based on size and details. 

We think that is a virtual steal compared to similar works from other nationally recognized artists... especially because there are probably only a handful of artists in the world painting cars with such detail and maybe only one or two on the same level (I haven't found them and I have looked). Here is his most recent piece to illustrate what I am talking about...

That is a watercolor painting. I can only imagine how many hours go into the drops and Nash tries desperately not to keep track or he would probably be forced to triple his prices. 

Instead of commissions, we personally prefer to let him paint things, find out which pieces are his personal favorites, and then buy them from his collection because it makes him sort of sad to let them go. Especially if you make him hand deliver them to a far away island and hang them on your wall. 

Supporting artists and the arts is important. If you want to live in a world that has nice things, you need to help pay for them sometimes. If they happen to be from an artist on the rise whose work will no doubt soon be rapidly ascending in value, all the better. Better still is to listen to the same artist get choked up as they bid farewell to their favorite pieces because they are on your wall! It's a win/win. 

Here is the Nash Cox Watercolor Artist Facebook link:

https://www.facebook.com/nashcoxart/

Here are a few more examples of some of his his work...

And finally, when the artist returned to Iowa, we got back to the real business at hand here of being us on an amazing island in the Caribbean...