Loyd, an elderly folk artist from central Minnesota, carved many kinds of critters, but what caught my eye, at the sports shows, was his long legged skunks. About the time I decided to purchase one from him, Loyd didn't have any long legged skunks on hand, so I ordered one from him. I asked him to bring it to the next year's show. The next year's show rolled around, and I picked up my long legged skunk. It wasn't until later that I noticed he hadn't carved a new long legged skunk, but had added leg extensions to one of his short legged skunks. I get a kick out of it every time I look at it.
Four Fish Decoy Carvings
Nothing makes my day more than coming across a true Minnesota folk art fish decoy. These four were probably made around the l950's. They were found within a stones throw of Vergas, Minnesota.
DOC TROWBRIDGE Painting:
I have several of Doc's colorful paintings. Wish I had a bunch more. They all depict outdoor scenes from here in Minnesota.
The back of the painting is signed, "Blue Skies" by Don Trowbridge, age 83. He lived in the same retirement building as my sister. Every now and again, I stopped by to say hello and see what he was working on. One day, I offered to sell some of his paintings for him on Ebay. He just gave me a look, and said, "No Jay, I don't have time to be famous. I just want to paint."
