Night of the Collector

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry
— Robert Burns
Amish Spring | Original fine art print | Eden Maxwell

Amish Spring | Original fine art print | Eden Maxwell

From my book, An Artist Empowered:

I had spent many months in setting up a meeting, and it seemed that my efforts had paid off. An influential art collector was coming to my home in the Hollywood Hills on Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon. She arrived promptly at 7:30 p.m. that evening. After our cup of tea, I was ready to show her a selection of my paintings. In the instant I began setting up for the private showing, there was a knock at the door.

A policewoman matter-of-factly informed me that I had to evacuate the house immediately. There had been a bomb threat in the area. All the residents on the street had to drive down the hill until it could be sorted out, one way or another. 

My slightly nervous art collector took it as an adventure; I took it as a conspiracy. I grabbed my two Yorkies Larry and Beau and began the winding drive down the mountain; the art collector followed me in her car. At various checkpoints along the steep road, police barricades waved us on until we had descended into the flats. 

Eventually, I pulled over and parked on a side street below Sunset Boulevard. The lady collector drove up behind me. Who knows when or if she would come up to see me again? Who knows how long the bomb squad would be up there? After I said goodbye to the patron and possible acquisition, she drove off toward her mansion in Malibu. 

My Yorkies and I walked along Sunset for some time. Then, as I drove back up the hill that starry night, I thought of the sign that Einstein had in his office at Princeton.

It read: ‘Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted, counts.’ 

The bomb threat had been a hoax. 


CONNECTING ON A DEEPER INTUITIVE LEVEL

My art-making is based on the physical flow of spontaneous intuition, which involves a remarkable journey. Impulses of energy and information surge down my arm and, through improvisation, I compose visual jazz with line and color. If the art-making is magic, then the art is magic.

What does my painting Amish Spring reveal to you? There is no right or wrong answer. Trust your feelings, not the opinion of others, including art critics and so-called experts. Remember, if you see it, then it’s there. Enjoy. Click on the painting for more details.

To get a better feel for the scope and range of my art, please visit my collection of original Fine Art prints: each signed print features museum quality materials, permanent pigment inks, plus acid-free matting that I attach to the artwork using conservation best practices.

To further connect with you, I share more of the inner workings and depth of my art, and exclusive personal insights in my newsletter. Subscribe below and receive a free valuable gift: Ten Tips for Building Self-Confidence.