I admit it; I hit the art racks at resale shops when I get a chance. Remember the guy in 2003 who bought a painting of workers in a field at a flea market that turned out to be by Vincent van Gogh, it sold for $3.6 million? What about the woman last year in West Virginia who launched a firestorm of controversy when she found a Pierre-Auguste Renoir at a flea market for $7? Last week I stumbled across a small piece at Goodwill signed “Mihail”.   The pastel on paper was in a cheap looking frame but I could tell that the artwork did not belong in a thrift shop—the mastermind behind it was no Sunday painter. Upon further ...

I recently had an Asian client who rebuffed the notion of a mirror in the bedroom. When pressed on the issue he cited Feng Shui. What ever happened to the Feng Shui craze? I can’t tell you how many presentations I did in the 1990’s followed by a question like, “But is it Feng Shui?” Even into the 2000’s I recall taking a couple continuing education classes on Feng Shui for my design license. At some point around 2005 I showed some paintings at the Feng Shui Gallery—I hardly remember the gallery, I guess it didn’t make it… Feng Shui (pronounced “phung schwee”, meaning “wind water”) is part of an ancient Chinese philosophy of nature.  Identified as a form of ...

210 Bridge, Lake Charles, LA courtesy of Terry Donovan

If you can tour only one antebellum plantation, make it Oak Alley. I’ve seen almost every Louisiana plantation that is open to the public and Oak Alley is definitely the queen of them all! The mansion itself is magnificent but it’s the alley of trees that is not duplicated anywhere in the world. Established as a sugarcane plantation in 1830 by crazy rich Valcour Aime, the land was traded to his brother-in-law Jacques Roman who in 1839 built a house impressive enough to lure his sweetie from New Orleans to the country. For more history, take the tour… Most house museum tours can be dry and the docents can be a bit scripted. Oak Alley is no different. But the ...

I’m always surprised when I run into someone in public and I’m asked, “Whatever happened to TroysArt?” In the not too distant past I was a regular at art openings and museum parties. And I’d often invite friends to join me. Unfortunately the request was usually met with insecurity. And I didn’t understand how anyone could object to free drinks and a hip new crowd. Eventually I came to realize that even though there was no quiz at the end, people were insecure in a fine art environment. That is how TroysArt was born. I wanted to convey that the old adage “I don’t know much about art but I know what I like” is all anyone really needed to ...