First Friday

People waiting for the shuttle at the Phoenix Art Museum parking lot.
Finally we did our first "First Friday" over at Downtown Phoenix. My sister in law and my niece were my partners in crime for this outing. We left the house at around 6:30 pm got on the freeway and in about 20 minutes we got to the Phoenix Art Museum to pick up the free route maps.

We waited for about 15 minutes for the shuttle but then decided to get the van and drive down to Roosevelt and 3rd, it was already crowded and we noticed that people had to park far to get to the event. I turned on a street here, and the on a street there and voila a parking spot was right there just waiting for us to park. Only two short blocks away and we were eaten by the crowds.

The temperature was hot and a bit humid, they had predicted rains all afternoon for Phoenix but does anybody really trust the Weather Forecasters, I think not. We started by going into the first gallery, an artist working on a painting, a band playing live in the corner, a few vendors selling hand made jewelry and friendly people just having fun watching the different products on display.

Then on to our second gallery, this one had some pictures just hanging from a string, you could tell the images were captured with a good camera, my little point and shoot will never accomplish the clarity of those images, I didn't see any prices though.

You find out that there is no particular kind of people there, it's a great mix of people of all kinds, trust me when I say all kinds. lol

Our third gallery tour showed a big collection of framed black and white images. I started to peruse the images and was already in my mind saying, "I have better images than this in my repertoire" my sister in law said the very same thing I was thinking and then under each picture in a little, tiny, weeny, card we saw the prices. $900.00 or $700.00 unframed. A regular size picture in a 5 X 7 frame $500.00 or $300.00 unframed.

My sister in law and her daughter admiring the photographs..
My goddaughter and I.
Humm do they think I am made of money. That's it I'm buying from my brother in law.

My sister in law said, "There is hope for you guys". I don't know what separates a pro from an amateur but if it's all the same to you all from now all call me "artist". I am artist Joe Cool and my captures will be found in a gallery on E Roosevelt St. Starting prices at the low $1000s and if my works sell maybe I won't get to be a starving artist.


Seriously, I offer my pictures starting at $25.00 and at this time my most expensive one is about $70.00. But there I think I have to start pricing them at $100.00 all the way to $800.00.

I didn't realize that the crowds were in the thousands. I thought maybe I would see a few groups here and there, well, think again Mr. Joe Cool.

The crowd.

I really enjoy this kind of outing, I hate crowds but I know how to ignore people when I want to and I don't let it get to me. Most likely we will be going again next month. The area where this galleries and studios are is so huge that there is no way everything can be seen in one day, or two, or three.

Jesus At The Mount of Olives

Scene Inside The Shrine of Saint Joseph of the Mountains
Yarnell, Arizona
Image captured by: Jennifer Melo
Frame Size: 11 X 14
Image Size: 8 X 10
Brown Frame
White Mat
$30.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Here is another image captured by Jennifer Melo. This one one her way back from Prescott. This is at the Shrine of Saint Joseph of the Mountains in Yarnell, Arizona.

To learn more about this place CLICK HERE!

The Bridge

The Bridge at "Jardin Borda"
Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Light Tan
$45.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

The is so much to see at this beautiful place. I can't imagine living in such a huge mansion complete with an amphitheater, a lake, many different gardens, and a big fountain wherever two paths cross.

The bridge is weather you go over or under leads to more gardens and the brick walkways are breath taking. If you are into plants you can spend the whole day here and still won't see everything.

A fascinating place to visit for sure and totally worth the $5.00 admission fee.

Jardin Borda Scene Revisited

Scene Inside "Jardin Borda"
Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico
Image captured by: Jose Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Brown Frame
Gold Mat
$50.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

Here is a different take of an image we've framed before. "Jardin Borda Scene" I had a gold color mat and I didn't know what to do with it, so I started going through our files and decided on this image. I then had the image developed in sepia and went and bought a nice big brown frame. The end result is in my opinion really nice. I have a feeling this one won't last.

(Local Name: Jardin Borda) The Jardin Borda (Borda Garden), diagonally opposite the cathedral, was laid out in the second half of the 18th c. - by Jose de la Borda, the so-called "Solver King" from the mining town of Taxco. The park, restored most recently in 1987, contains terraced gardens, ponds, and an open-air theater. During their brief reign (1864-67) it was used by the Emperor Maximillian and his wife Charlotte for garden parties. The Casa de Maximiliano (restored 1960) in the Calle Galena was the imperial couple's summer residence.

Text borrowed from the Internet. Planet Ware

Family Portraits

Since I started acting on this hobby of mine the word continues to be spread and friends and family are starting to call on special projects. A dear friend of mine had three portrait pictures that she had had for a while and just didn't know how to display them.

I asked her to bring them to me so I could look at them and to give her some ideas, she just said I'll bring them and you frame them. I truly believe that beautiful portraits like these need to be framed and displayed.

Here is the end result. Nothing really fancy, just three simple but pretty frames and a couple of custom mats. I really liked the way they came out.


The love of a family is life's greatest blessing.


Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children. ~Rosaleen Dickson




Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. ~Anthony Brandt

Send Me a Letter

Send Me a Letter
Prescott, Arizona
Image captured by: Jeniffer Melo
Frame Size: 16 X 20
Image Size: 11 X 14
Black Frame
Turquoise Mat
$50.00 + shipping & handling
Click on image to enlarge

My daughter in law needed a day alone and she went on a serenity quest. A full tank of gas, camera in hand and no rush of any sort she took off and drove towards Prescott. The following day she surprised us with some captures she had made during this trip. They were all great but the budget only allowed for one of them to be framed. Michelle and I chose this one based on the simplicity but also the mystique of finding a row of mail boxes in the middle of nowhere.

However, I am sure you will soon see more of her images framed and in upcoming exhibitions.

Our Exhibit at Vane's

So our fourth exhibition is in the books, no records were broken but when it was all said and done we had a good day. As always family members made an appearance. As I don't' expect them to buy something every time they come I love to have them there for the moral support and because these exhibitions just make for some good ole family gatherings.

My sister and niece brought my mom, one of my toughest critics but also a good paying customer, another surprise was seeing a niece of mine and her husband whom I had not seen in a while. She walked out with the Wild "Flowers" frame that got such good reviews in the past two shows.

And then there was my younger niece that had already bought a custom frame from us which I called "An Aunts Love", since she is a repeat customer and she will be going back to school she talk me into giving her a student discount as she will be going back to college soon and liked the frame for her dorm.

There were a few other guests that came to see what the fuzz was all about. This lady really liked my newest frame which I named "Send Me a Letter". It's a capture by my daughter in law on her way to Prescott. The shot contained a row of mail boxes that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. I really think it was a very beautiful frame and at the very end of the exhibition as we were saying "Good night" she went for it and claimed it as hers.



So far I have always found support, and good reviews about the work we are doing and promoting. The consensus is that people like to hang something on their walls from someone that they know and from a scene that they can get the story as to how it came to be, rather than buying frames from a store that are mass produced.



On his occasion my niece (the host) and her husband really outdid themselves with the wonderful buffet. A salsa bar, chips, some sort of quesadillas, watermelon, punch, and wine kept us coming back to the kitchen for more. Not only did it taste great but the arrangement was also very pretty. I couldn't have asked for more.




Here are some more pics from the event. Until the next one.

Presenting our host with her complimentary frame.
(Thank you Vane for letting me look taller that you in this picture.)

I even had my own custom cup for my tasty punch, courtesy of my daughter and partner Nikki.

My niece and customer and my daughter and partner Michelle posing on a "My Space" type shot.