Last night I was going through pictures on my computer and came across one that I had never posted about but had fully intended to. I will now.
I had posted the story of when Jacob and I went and lived the good life at Jazz Fest, but the thing was, I wasn’t able to get a poster that day because we went on the last Sunday, so all the posters were long gone. I absolutely LOVE James Michalopoulos’ style. It’s messy and intense. It’s that whole impressionistic type that gets you to feel the painting. The 2001 poster he did is perfect IMO. You can feel that sweaty but satisfied feeling Louis Armstrong has as he steps out of the club. JM did the 2006 poster, and since I had such a magical time going that year, and I loved his work, I wanted the poster.
I scoured eBay for it for months, and just never pulled the trigger. My parents tried finding me a copy for Christmas in 2006, but couldn’t find one. Things kind of petered out on my search until I went to a local frame shop to get my Masters poster framed that I had gotten when I went to Augusta. Someone had brought one in to get framed and I saw one in person for the first time. It was beautiful. I wanted it.
I searched eBay off and on, and ‘watched’ auctions to see how much the poster was going for. I even recognized some of the sellers after a while, and knew who was legit. Finally in January 2008, I went for it. One of the sellers I had recognized was selling another poster for under $300 with a Buy It Now. I used some money I had gotten for Christmas and took the plunge. I waited anxiously for it, and when it came I immediately took it out of the tube to look at. There it was, the poster I had been after for so long was mine. I took it to the frame shop and got it framed and brought it home.
It’s one of my most prized possessions, not only because I like the style, the feeling of funk and happiness, but also because such great memories are tied to that day at the Fairgrounds, swaying with Jacob to ‘Easy’. (what? it’s just two guys enjoying Lionel Richie!)
