Let me take you back several decades....Newsweek Magazine came to our fair city to do a story on culture in Rockford, Illinois. They were going to get the job done in two days. On the last day they called my home to do an interview. My 15 year old daughter answered the phone. When the reporter asked to speak with me Rebecca informed him that her father was away at his studio (Emmert's Farm). When asked if he could have the phone number at my farm studio she told him there was no phone at this remote place and i would not be home till Saturday evening. Well that was the end of the interview idea. When i arrived home my daughter told me that some guy from a magazine had called and she related the conversation. I was somewhat upset and told her she should have had her mother drive out to the farm and let me know and i would have gladly dropped my brushes
and hurried home for the interview since it would be a great way to reach a national audience. That was an opportunity lost.

On another occasion the editor of the American Artist Magazine saw my painting that was included in the Arts For The Parks Top 100 in Jackson Hole Wyoming and called me to ask for my written permission to use it on the cover of the magazine. Of course i said yes and sent the permission. I was looking forward to seeing my painting on the next issue. Just before publication he called and apologized that one of the layout artists had disagreed with his choice and wanted to grace the cover with an American Eagle that would be a much stronger emage on the news stand. The artist was non other than the great Carl Brenders. I had to admit that it surely was much more powerful than my landscape of the Buffalo River. They did insert a small image of my painting inside the magazine..... Another opportunity lost.

Then another call came from the Art Calendar Magazine. The editor wanted to use a painting that i did of the interior of my studio at Emmerts Farm. She had come across it on my web site. I said i would be honored.
This opportunity did come to fruition and i received a great deal of response from across the nation....Opportunity WON.

About three weeks ago i was contacted by the Artists Magazine with a request to use my painting titled Native on the cover. Again i was pleased but a day or two later i received an email asking for a better image. They needed more detail for a cover image. I took my image to Photo Shop and made it much larger and quickly sent it to the publishing house. Again i received another email patiently explaining that making the image larger did not improve the quality of the pixels on the image but thanks anyway for trying. The original had been sold and was in another city so i figured ANOTHER opportunity lost. I chided myself for several days for not being more business-like in making better high quality photographs of my work. Being ready for success when the opportunity presents itself plays a large part in recognition for any artist. But all was not lost after-all. a week passed and i received another email saying that they didn't want to pressure me but, was i having any luck with a better image.
I was shocked...i thought they had decided not to use my painting. I called a photographer friend of mine and told him of my dilemma. He said "no problem pal, I can make that image of yours as fine as they want it".....and he did and the magazine said he sent a great image that would reproduce beautifully.                                                     

Now at this stage of the game I no longer take it for granted that my painting will be on the cover of The Artists Magazine until i see the May issue but so far its looking like a good possibility.