Prepare yourself for Tomorrow's Auction right here!

When I painted this still life many months ago I was working, as usual, in my mezzanine-level studio in the Old Town Hall in Lancaster. Usually, my studio is a very solitary space. But that summer, there was a community theater working in the hall, practicing their music just beyond and below the curtains that form the southern wall of my studio. The performance they were preparing was Don Quixote. As I painted away during those days, the themes of valor, optimism, inspiration, and "tilting at windmills" were wafting around me. The beautiful melody about the leading lady, Dulcinea, was what ended up finding its way on to this canvas here. The silver of the tea service became the armor of a knight, with the blossoms representing the inspiring loveliness of his muse. ​

Dulcinea
oil on canvas
14"x22" 

This piece will be included in an upcoming exhibit at the Whistler House Museum of Art, most likely in 2021 (original dates for this exhibit were this fall, but of course this exhibit was postponed). 

I am offering it for pre-exhibit purchase now, via auction, here on this blog! 
​The auction starts tomorrow morning, Thursday, October 15, at 8:30 am. 

Please read the auction rules here: 

• The original price for this piece is $3170. Starting bid for the auction is $800.
  
• Shipping is free in the the contiguous US!
• There will be a fresh blog post for the actual auction, entitled 'Auction for Dulcinea.'
• To place a bid on the painting, use the comments section below the auction post. 
• Feel free to use a pseudonym, but please be aware that winners will be informed via email, so it is imperative that you provide your working email when placing a comment bid. Your email will be kept private and will not be published along with the comment.  
• Minimum bid increase amount is $25. This means that you must bid at least $25 higher than the previously published comment. For example, if the comment above yours is $825, your minimum bid is $850. You may bid higher in increments of $25 (e.g., you may follow a $825 bid with a $900 bid). 
• The auction will run for two days, ending at midnight, EST, on Friday the 16th, 2020. 
• The final bid to post in the comment section with a timestamp prior to 12:00am on the 17th will be the winning post. In the case of any confusion, we will refer to the corresponding emails that we receive for each comment; whichever email appears in our inbox as the final post before midnight will correspond to the winning comment bid. 
• We will contact the winner via email to arrange payment and shipment. 
• Massachusetts residents will be subject to MA sales tax (6.25%). 

​Good luck!