Moonlight Sail -- Oil on Canvas -- 9x12
Is the economy turning around?
Not being an economist, I don't know, but from what I'm reading in the paper and hearing on the news, even the trained economists don't know either.
Out here in Eastern Washington, we joke that during the boom times, things look pretty much the same over here, and during the bust times, things look pretty much the same over here.
The Main Streets in this region boast a series of small, independent business people -- one- to five- person shops -- specializing in baking bread, selling toys, stocking yarn (my wife is big on that, especially if it's a fiber that started out in the underbelly region of a camel), brewing tea -- odd, unique places selling odd, unique things that one doesn't generally find in the Mart stores.
From interacting with these people, I get the idea that yes, things are tough, but then, things are always tough in this area. Sales are happening, and people are willing to buy even luxurious things (as in the above camel haired product).
My wife and I joke that our brilliant timing led us to launch serious sales of my fine art right at the beginning of the recession, but, frustrating as it can be hearing over and over, "Oh, sales at this event were nearly triple this years ago!" we also see a refreshingtly independent type of person buying art -- these are people who, during the boom years, never overextended themselves, but saved up for the things they wanted, like fine art, and purchased them when they had the money in hand. During the bust years, many of these people follow the same pattern -- they set aside money, and once they have enough, they contact us or one of our galleries and buy fine art.
Interestingly, many of these people are small business owners themselves, or professionals running a small to mid-sized practice, and they run their personal lives with the same wisdom and acumen that they invest in their businesses, showing that, in more ways than one, this country is truly run on the back of its small business owners.
