Funny…most of my experience around auctions has not been very positive. :0)  I remember watching a couple standing outside of the West End Galleries in Edmonton, visiting a large painting of mine titled Off the Wall: Gardens on the West End.  They had made the purchase and while everyone else was mingling inside on a cold winter’s eve, they were outside in the quiet. They looked so in love and so ‘forever’.  But things happen.  Some years later, I found that piece up for auction.  Was the piece victim to a divorce, a death, a loss of some sort?  There are many reasons why art works end up at auction.

Presently, I’m reading a book, Objects of Our Affection by Lisa Tracy…a book that is influencing my ‘letting go’ of objects and also the complete embrace of what those objects might represent. Filled with a rich story of history, I recommend the above mentioned book for those of you interested in the sorting of your art and objects of great affection. This process is directly linked to the real time experience of auctions and the separation that likely occurs in that process.

I was shocked when I came upon a piece by my dear friend, Bill Webb, at the Levis Auction, the third stop on Wendy Lee’s Love Art in Calgary tour.  This is an early piece, one that now shows some obvious neglect.  One never knows what happens to a piece of art once it is purchased by a client.  It sort of takes on a life of its own. This piece illustrates a very early exploration of some of the things that Bill has tackled over many years as a visual artist. Bill’s work is magical and he is more magical!  Our friendship will endure all art, I am glad to say.

Thanks to Doug Levis for a comprehensive description of the auction process.  This, after a beautiful lunch, great conversation and a martini at Brava Bistro.  Glad to say that our fearless leader, Wendy Lees, is now the proud owner of a piece by Man Woman through this auction.