The Artist/Naturalist has held a place in Art History since the age of cave drawings. Think Ansel Adams, Beatrix Potter, John James Audubon and the like. And then there is contemporary self-taught Louisville, Kentucky artist MACK DRYDEN, for whom art and nature are a dual passion. Mack’s love of nature began with his “Huck Fin childhood” […]

For the past several years, J Compton Gallery has focused on bringing to light the amazing paintings of Seattle-born outsider artist Larry John Palsson (1948-2010). We’ve shared Larry’s art and his story with followers online. We’ve staged exhibits from Forth Worth to Cedar Rapids to Santa Fe. And we’ve introduced his visionary and sophisticated geometric […]

  Midwest Antique and Art Show & The Collector’s Eye: April 12th 10 am-4 pm @Hawkeye Downs Fair Grounds, 4400 6th Street SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

From the moment a “picker” in Seattle, Washington, emailed me photos of paintings he’d found at a local house sale and asked me to represent them, I knew instantly this was something important. For the past two years I’ve relied on a wide circuit of art and antiques shows; ads in art and antiques journals; […]

J Compton Gallery is pleased to feature the paintings of self-taught visionary artist Larry John Palsson (1948-2010) at the Outsider Art Fair NYC. Visit us in Booth 403. January 29th-February 1st @ Center 548, 548 West 22nd Street, New York City, NY 10011. info@outsiderartfair.comThursday: Early Access 3-6pm Vernissage 6-9pmFriday:     11am-8pmSaturday: 11am-8pmSunday:   11am-6pm   […]

I met Terry McCullough near the beginning of his creative journey when our paths crossed at the Bloom Agency in Dallas. I was a young copywriter. He was a layout artist. Decades later, I buy and sell art. Terry makes art. But then, he always has.  Early on, Terry’s dad, a hand-set printer, and his […]

 In the fall of 2011, at a house sale in a modest Seattle neighborhood, a local picker combing through mountains of seemingly ordinary household stuff made an astonishing discovery. There, among stacks of sci-fi paperbacks, engineering trade journals and electronic paraphernalia was a collection of box after box of paintings, sketches and mobiles – hundreds […]

Now in its 18th year, the LA Art Show is known for exhibiting exciting work from around the globe and from one end of the art spectrum to another. The 2014 show (January 15th-19th) didn’t disappoint, offering a broad spectrum, indeed: Contemporary bronzes by China’s Wang Dong Lai; master works by Marc Chagall; rarely-seen photography […]

Some years ago, over dinner at the home of friends, I met a woman named Pat. She arrived with a friend and, with his help, walked slowly, aided by crutches under each arm. Had she been in an accident? As we began chatting, I asked her that very question. Pat shook her head. She was […]

Remember the scene in the original “Toy Story” movie where the family car and the moving van pull away from the house, leaving a handful of toys behind? It’s a scene right out of my childhood. In the movie, of course, the toys that get left are eventually reunited with their owner. My case was a […]

One of the best, most memorable vacations my mother ever had was in 1977 when     she went to Trinidad for Carnival. Her boss at the time had been to Trinidad a few years earlier to recruit employees for an oil refinery on St. Croix. One of the people he hired was a man […]

One of the most exciting things about the buying end of this business is finding a piece with great eye appeal (be it form, surface, originality, etc.), only to discover there’s more to it than meets the eye. Something that adds an unexpected dimension and makes it more unique and intriguing than I ever imagined.

The same thing’s true of people. You meet someone you find likable and interesting and then discover something so unexpected about him, it blows your mind.

That’s how it happened with my buddy Kevin Gordon.

When people see me at antique and folk art shows – and see the display of old rag dolls — they often ask about my personal collection. I’m not sure they believe me when I say I made it all the way to 50 owning just four dolls: a “Tiny Tears,” an Aranbee “Littlest Angel,” […]