I Wish I Knew Who These People Are...

 When we asked the kids if they wanted to go with my wife and me for yard sale finds this morning, I was surprised all the kids wanted to go, so we loaded up the minivan (complete with dog...) and headed out. I thought we'd find some of the usual things at the yard sales, books, clothes, maybe something useful in the kitchen or for emergency kits, and we did.

Didn't think we'd find a lot of paintings.

Likewise, I didn't think my kids would buy art.

We came home with several paintings, one an original hand-painted picture my son bought.

When we were looking at the art, I pulled out my phone and tried to do a quick internet search to see if I could identify the artist who created the pieces. And I think I could have found out, if only I could read their signatures.

Now, far be it from me to criticize a person for their less than perfect penmanship. Mine can hardly be called legible at times. Still, with my art, I've only signed books that I've written or that contain a story of mine. If they come across my signature and can't read it, they can just look up at the book and see the name.

Also, I don't want to judge these artists. Perhaps they were tortured and had a tough time completing the painting by adding their name. Maybe they suffered from so much anguish considering their life's choices that they purposely wanted no one to know who it was that actually created the art. Could it be just tough to paint legible letters? So many considerations...

The reality is, these people gave up time and energy to produce something that didn't exist before and they should be applauded for it. I just wish I knew who they were.