Monday, September 15, 2008

Sept. 15, 2008
This past weekend the historical building next door to us burned to the ground.  It is a motive that I have painted many times in the past 3 years, and I am glad that I did.  Not that it looked good even before it burnt, but using artistic license, I have created a compositions and paintings that will be memorable for the future.  The entire area where I live is considered of historical value on a national level, but you would never know it to see the condition of alot of the buildings.  The owners of the buildings bought them with the intention of transforming them into useful, profitable replicas of their former selves, but when national conservatory office declares them "historical", the options for restoring and using these buildings drops dramatically.  No longer can they be restored as the owners intended, but, being of national historical value, the restrictions are enormous.  What then happens, is that the owners drop all plans, let the buildings deteriorate until they either fall down on their own or some sets fire to them.  The fire that took place this past weekend is the 5th fire in 3 months in our area, so I suspect that there is foul play, especially concerning the fire in our neighborhood.  The press is digging for answers, and I for one, hope that light starts to shed on why this hopeless situation can not be solved to everyone's satisfaction.