Many people saw the paintings last night at The Arts Factory. I have no idea what were the numbers but it was a big number. It was so exhausting talking to them during the four hour event. I had some help from friends, thankfully, or I would never have got through it. I’m sure that by the end of the evening, some people must have wondered if I was drunk. Well, if any of you wondering that are reading this, let me assure you that was certainly NOT the case. (Later on, well, maybe a little, yeah…)
So many people were so impressed by the art. Several even remarked that this was the best work they’d seen all evening (and there was a whole lot of other art around).
Quite a lot of people did not immediately notice my hurriedly-made display about the artist. They would look at the paintings, and look at me, and look at the paintings, and look back at me and say, “You’re not the artist, are you.” (It wasn’t really posed as a question). ROFL. “Good call,” I’d say.
Angu’s response to the night: Long live Art..!! it will save the world.. . Read on, below this gallery of photos from last night.
Lots of people who had no money, or were themselves struggling artists, promised me they would contact Angu directly, and I very much hope they will follow through. His phone number appears on the Art Cameroon Contact Page. Perhaps you will catch him when he’s busy with other people, but there’s no harm in that, I think. “Excuse me for just a few minutes. I must take take this call from one of my fans in America.” I think Angu can live with that kind of interruption.
Oh, and a lot of people asked if Angu would visit Las Vegas. I told them that he’d said he very much wants to, but I waved at the paintings and said, “It all depends on whether these sell well, or not.”
Many, many people took the business card (printed in a rush order just the day before) and a number of people promised me they would be in touch soon. I can well understand not wanting to put down a few hundred dollars on an impulse purchase, no matter how much you love a particular painting. I did assure people that in case they bought a painting and then, later, wanted to trade it for another comparable painting, then that was perfectly fine. By the end of the evening, the day’s sales amounted to just one $100 deposit on The Evening Prayer.
A law professor who recently bought two paintings – and whose purchase actually funded Angu’s cost of shipping most of the paintings on display – dropped by to visit, and to see the new paintings. She told me that there is a strong possibility that Angu can get a U.S. visa based on the visa category, “Extraordinary Ability.” I encouraged her to discuss that with Angu and make his day.
Many of the paintings remain on display and can be viewed most any afternoon or evening in the upstairs gallery. Use the contact form – or use the email address on the business card – if you have any questions.
We should have taken more photos, sorry. You can see on the wall I displayed a framed painting. It’s my own painting, which I bought from Angu Walters a few years ago, and it’s my favorite. I was advised that showing one framed painting would help people to imagine a frame around the other paintings. Being as it’s my favorite, I didn’t mind showing it off. I also put up an African mask. It’s got nothing, really, to do with Angu. It’s just an accent for the wall. I bought it in Cameroon, about 40 miles away from Angu’s city of Bamenda.
