The Art of George "Milo" Buck

Living in Santa Cruz, California is a paradise . . . unless You're trying to make a living as an artist. A lot of extremely talented people live and work in this area but I have visited many who have storage spaces, garages and spare rooms full of beautiful sculptures, paintings, prints, stained glass, hand made furniture, pottery, you name it. It's sad to see and it's not for a lack of trying to market their wares. I think We just don't have the support that artists receive in more grounded and older cultures where they place more value on creativity (and I mean as a culture, not just our local community). "Milo" has lived and worked as an artist his entire adult (I use that word loosely) life. He is currently represented @ A Boy and His Dog Fine Art Gallery in Key West, Florida and on the West Coast by his longtime friend and fellow painter . . . Geoffrey . There is a current exhibition hanging in Pulse Productions located @ 120 Pearl Alley in downtown Santa Cruz, CA. Michael Horne, the owner of Pulse Productions has been a long time patron of Milo's. Back to the perceived reasons it is hard to survive (never mind thrive) in Santa Cruz. The gallery space We have is fluid and ever changing. There was Atelier - out of business, Dancing Man Gallery, retired. The Pope Gallery - out of business, The Santa Cruz Art League - located in an old building in a hole off Broadway, try selling art from there let alone finding it if You're from out of town. There are a number of notable new galleries in town(in the long running history of galleries in Santa Cruz) such as the Kowhaus, The Hide, The Mill Gallery, Michaelangelo, The Old Sash Mill, Vino Cruz, but prepare to wait to exhibit as artists exceed square footage available and there's always the "politics" of who knows who. We will have the new Tannery Art Center which got nothing but abusive comments (read the blog) from readers of the Santa Cruz Sentinel as to why anyone would put tax money toward promoting the Arts with Gallery space and low income housing for artists in residence. Never mind that Peter Max is estimated to have hauled in a paultry $40 million last year alone. Other venues that show art are the Catalyst - which Milo is permanently 86'd from. Kuumbwa - which he's also 86'd from, The Poet and The Patriot - 86'd, and then there's The Attic where We are hanging a show November 1st thru November 30th with a reception on November 2nd @ 8pm. This should be an outstanding show with at least forty works of art (mainly iconic portraits) four feet by four feet large! There will be scores of paintings for those of us with normal sized houses in which to hang them. Am I rambling yet? You probably ask why is He 86'd from those aforementioned places, well when You spend Your life energy painting, promoting, peddling, and hanging Your art for public viewing and very little sells, well . . . not enough to put food on Your table consistently You can get a little bitter - lol. Sometimes You just have to publicly express that kind of frustration. Milo has truly suffered for His art (as have scores of the county's finest). . .having lived in barns, chicken coops, cars, vans, sheds, slept in a dogs bed, on hardwood floors, eaten weeds, berries and mushrooms from the wild (good thing he studied mycology). This is an artist that deserves a f**king break and I hope a little honesty about the hardships Milo and other artists have gone through will help if You decide to pry Yourselves away from the TV and Cheetos long enough to go see his paintings and those of other fine artists in Your community.

new post: stardate November 3, 2007

So We hung a huge show at The Attic 931 Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. An artist reception was held for "Milo" and due to scheduling overlaps there were actually 2 reception times, 5pm and 8pm which worked out great because that allowed the swing dance crowd and the E3 Players time from 5 til 8 to tear the place up. The E3 Players if You haven't had a chance to see and hear them kick ass! They are roughly a 10 piece band (I say roughly because I was too busy with meet and greet to count em). The band consists of horns, keyboard, stand up bass and drums and these guys rock! Many people commented that it felt the way the old Catalyst used to in the days of Wally's Swing World. In between sets the grand piano in the dining room cranked out some amazing sounds of blues and jazz while people enjoyed the art of Milo.
The art show was hung in a style that is not commonly used, that is the old 19th century format of floor to ceiling with the retrospective timeline broken up to keep the monotony of a school sponsored museum tour at bay. Milo sold 3 paintings which is a fair start. It was great to see Michael Leeds who arrived in truckzilla, his new creation powered by a 350 Cummins turbo-diesel. His brother, famous potter and artist extraordinaire, Matt also showed up which made it seem like the art scene of 30 years ago. Jeanette and Rob from Firecat Pottery were there as well as Dina Scopatoni who is an old friend of Milo's and a very elegant lady. Dave Flemming was there, if You haven't had a chance to check out his art I would advise You to set aside some time for it.
Rio who owns the Attic along with his wife are wonderful people, very friendly, supportive of the community and very supportive of artists and musicians.
While Milo and I were there We woofed down a steak and some fries in between photo ops and talking to patrons, the steak at the Attic is some of the best I've had anywhere! Cooked medium rare, very juicy and flavorful, I cut it with a fork!
The next morning I went back to check the artwork and there was a great mother-daughter celebration going on with rose petals strewn up the stairs. I've got to say The Attic has all the right ingredients for success. If You have a chance, stop by.
The Art of Milo, running through November at The Attic.