Sounds Like A Scam to me or is it?

Dear Mr Ordaz,

My request is a bit strange but, nethertheless, I would like to make you the following request :

I was surfing on the Internet when my eyes had been caught by your painting "Machado's pies apples" with a yellow old truck. This painting is very closed to what we are looking for, since a long time ago, to decorate the walls of our home. We are looking for a picture with an old pickup truck, like in some scenes shot on American countryside with rural people and places.
In addition to the old truck, the sign with apples is something very funny and particular for me, because Machado is also my family name...
All this make me think that this painting is the one we want.

In brief, are you selling some paintings, or are they only for your own gallery ?
I am aware that all the paintings I could see in the Internet are masterpieces, and probably priceless Paintings, but nethertheless, I have been so attracted to it, that's the reason why I want to try.

Meanwhile, I would like to salute your Art.  

I am waiting to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(France)

 99% of the time these are scams and this one sounds every bit like a rat. But maybe.......?

 Here is a website that has good content on how to be on guard. ArtScam

Here's how I would play it to fish them out. ..... If you like this painting so much ... go through PayPal or Send me a package of my favorite Napa wine from my choosing and once I get the juice ... you then get the painting.


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What's Up With That....

photo - Karen Cain- Smith

that rugged ordaz look 
 photo - Karen Cain- Smith

 I've been giving my typing hand a break. My arm seizes up everytime I type for an extended period. Its a drag... what's up with that.

 Anyway...So much is going to happen  in the coming weeks . Come Monday, I will be joined by my Art Bud Mick McGinty of " Twice  a Week" and we will head off to Bodega Bay to paint for 2 days. Also joining in the fun will be my ol ILM fellow Matte Painter and Emmy award recipient and master realist painter etc. Christopher Evans. This should be fun. Then Mick and I will drive to Ashland Ore on Wednesday where I will be co _teaching and yapping at the Box R Ranch Masterpiece Conference for 4 days. I will demo my portrait technique and teach a little about Plein Air Painting. Then I come back on Saturday and then Its Momma's Day. Yeah. Then I need to set up shop at my new Gallery location in Auburn on Lincoln Way and THEN get ready for Cruise Night that Friday where thousands will fill the street and I will be ALMOST ready to hawk paintings of cars. I love painting ol cars! Whew!

 So... I've got to keep this short ... my arm is hurting already... I went down to Sacramento to participate in a video that will feature a few of the artists participating in the portrait show " About Face ". After I opened and shut my mouth I get the reflexive comment ... " Man ... You sure can talk" ... its a gift people..... I'll post the You Tube Video when its ready to go online at Sacramento365.com
In fact.... They've already posted my painting of Sam and you can go there and see some of the other paintings.

 Come to think of it ,  after I gave my presentation and talk at the BoxR last time I was reinvited  ... so.. my friends ... If you can't type ... TALK! Engage in a way that inspires your hearers.

 

Yap  ... Yap ... Yap ....  Yap .... Yap .....

Plein Air at Horton Iris Farm

 I quickly drove to the Iris Farm about 3:30 and started a painting with Jana right behind me. I stopped at the 1 1/2 hr mark as the sun and mood started to really change. 11 x 14 .

Horton Iris Farm Plein Air Event ... This Fri and Sat .. Open

  My typing arm is in need of a rest and that is the reason I am not posting as much. I'm probably going to see a chiropractor today. My arm feels dead.

 This Friday and Saturday the Horton Iris Farm in Loomis is open to Plein Air Painters. Saturday is open to all but their is also a paint out with a cash prize. The entry cost is $35 . The land is gorgeous. And the weather is forecast to be bright and sunny.

See you there!!

 

More Events

 There is an invite portrait show going on in Sacramento soon that will feature portraits painted by some really fine artists. They have chosen my portrait of " Sam Hyde Harris" as the postcard flyer to advertise the event. I just realized after looking at the date that I double booked another art gig on that same  day. I was asked the other day to do a live demo for the Roseville Art Association the afternoon of the reception date of the Portrait Show. Am I foolish enough to try and cram in a paying gig with a hand shaker? You bet!

 Thanks again for all the comments trickling in about the new website. 

 I am bursting to write about some things I've been reading on the FASO blogs about marketing. I think there is a misconception about wanting to " change the world" with our Art and creating a " Purple Cow".

 But lately, my ol carpal tunnel problems have reduced me to typing at the bare minimum ... all that uploading did me in.

 So my thoughts will be ... " What is the CONTENT of that CHANGE " ?... hey .. even volcanoes and tsunamies change things  ... is that good?Is trying to change the world with our Art an Abuse of Art? Does it then become Propaganda?

New Website

I'm uploading all my Fine Art at my new website powered by FineArt Studio Online

Here it is. http://ordazart.com/

Let me know what you think..... thanks .... there have been some loading issues... please let me know if they occur for you ...

Spartan... That Others May Live

 The Spartan "PJ" trainees started setting up camp, named after downed PJ Plite. The following pictures are just a sampling of the hundreds of pictures that I took.

Camp Plite is set up.

Water is distributed.

Sleeping accomodations are rigged.

Floors are bleached and cleaned near the operating designated

area.

Operating tables are set up.

The first exercise is in motion. An IED attack on a hummer

is staged.

Fellow classmates are used as "Casuals".

The call comes in and the rescue is in operation. Simulated gunfire

and grenade attacks are simulated. The adrenaline  was awesome!

An instructor observes and grades a PJ in motion.

A fallen soldier is tagged.

Then loaded on a vehicle. Ford trucks are used for this 

exercise.

The student casualties are instructed to act out their parts. Some are yelling...

More Morphine... others are passive... its controlled chaos

Checking

An instructor teaches a trainee.

Some are designated DOD. However, the trainees give it their

best to revive the casualty.

Instructor Brent Maney was our laison. He was excellent. Preparing us for what

would happen next.

Finally, an instructor debriefs and reviews the actions of the Pararescue students. They stand by and

listen. I was honored to document this event, Hoo Yah. We are served well by these young men!

More In Progress

 Yesterday was one of those days. Honey come down here... water is leaking through the dining room ceiling .... stop the water running from the shower  ... quick  ..... call a plumber ....later ...we fixed the problem ... now we have a hole  above our dining table  as a result of a leaky drain trap .....

 So ... I did not get far on much of anything yesterday . I sold a small painting at the ArtWalk and as they say ... in one hand and out the other ... I should have been a plumber! Can you believe those prices?

Painting Tip.... For those that occasionally lurk at this site, I don't recommend this type of approach in painting until you have had years and years of drawing experience. A good solid foundational drawing is always preferable to a quick slap dash approach. The only way to make this method work is that each successive patch of color and shape must be measured and matched to its surrounding shapes and colors. So there is a drawing scheme to this madness but it is only with alot of practice that you can pull this off and not make your subject look like frankenstein.

 My next post will continue with pics of the Pararescue school training.

In Progress

This was a demo I started last night for the Auburn ArtWalk

at the Maydak Gallery. It was fun painting and talking

with all age groups that came out to look at Art. My friend

Connie said ... Wow... there is alot happening in Auburn... I 

want to move here.

 This painting is from a photo I took of one of the trainees at

Kirtland ParaRescue School. He was ordered to pose for us. ;v)

 Also , I got a great link from April Jarocka on the Need for Artists in the combat zone. It is a BBC feature. Here is the link 

 I guess this painting begs the question Bill ... is this beautiful?

 One of the instructors of the ParaRescue school saw some mistakes in the exercises
and commented  ... " This is F.....g Beautiful!"

photo by Anita Lincoln

_____

Is Beauty relevant?

I got this link from Jeremy Elder .... this is definitely worth your time.... double click on the screen to see it in widescreen ...

Another busy day

 

 I painted this portrait at my portrait class last night. We had a 3 hr class pose. I did not bring my camera but my friend Maria emailed me a pic of the pose.

________

 Jana's sister is coming over tomorrow and today is one of those honey do days. So I'll resume the AF pics as soon as my task master lets up on me.

 We got away one day and drove 1 hour to Sante Fe and checked out a few galleries. Here I am posing with Victor Juhasz , a New York Illustrator , who turned out to be alot of fun. New Yorkers see the world in a colorful way ... say no more . He is a great sketch artist and caught many dramatic scenes with his pencils.

 It was so cold it started to snow ... we were freezing .

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 gotta run ..........

Day 1 Pararescue School Kirtland AFB

 Day 1 was pretty uneventful other than the gate guard having no idea what we were doing there. After we got our papers straightened out we found our lodging and were briefed on what we would see in our time spent on the base. Starting the next day, a group of trainees known as "PJ's"would set off for base camp and be tested by their instructors on a series of drills in the SERE program. Survival , Escape , Resistance and Evasion. Dates and times were only known to the instructors and the trainees were given no clue as to what procedure they would be called to perform.

 Victor Juhasz , Margo Hughes and Bryan Snuffer were fellow artists

on this mission.

 We started out early the following day documenting the combat rescue team arming their weapons with blanks.

 The mechanism at the end of the barrel circulates the gas from a discharged blank and charges the next round to simulate the power of an actual bullet. The blanks are not in magazines and are loaded into the rifle magazine one at a time.

 It becomes apparent that there is good chemistry within " Spartan" team.

 I got the feeling that they had performed this activity many times over and that this would probably be the last time that they would be relaxing. They would soon load up the trucks with their backpacks and medical equipment and head off to base camp.

 The men are given a pep talk by Captain Maloney. Hoo Yah

 At the far end of Kirtland stands an old Air Force barrack which they name Camp Plite  in memory of a fellow "PJ" Jason Plite. It stands in the high desert below the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque New Mexico.

The soldiers review the conditions and prepare to convert the installation

into a command center and operating room.

more to come.....