Portraits of St. Louis Artists - Scott Beatty

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We come to the end of the series of portraits of artists and their work I shot recently at Soulard Art Market. This might be the best photograph of the set, considerations of the artists and art work aside. I was making a comical effort to light most of these portraits with off-camera remote-controlled flashes, something I'm just learning. This one, however, worked well.

Beatty is an interesting guy. He spent twenty years in the navy as a submarine crewman, mostly in reconnaissance. He told me just briefly (security, you know) about picking up Navy Seals in the open ocean, with no knowledge of where they came from or the nature of their mission. His artistic project is called Vision For Vets (web site in production). This particular work is called Voyage of Faith. The craftsmanship is amazing, as you can see in the lower picture. Each of those tiny screw eyes had to be set in precisely made pilot holes made with a micro-drill. The local supplier ran out of the part and Beatty had to make the rest himself from brass wire.

WHAT PLEASED ME YESTERDAY: I had a disability hearing for a man with a complex combination of insulin-dependent diabetes with diabetic neuropathy and kidney disease, circulatory disorder in his legs, heart disease and sleep apnea. Yet he continued to work as a systems analyst until a layoff. The number of doctors he has seen is enormous. We pulled it all together and worked it out with the judge on the spot. He really needs the help. Job well done. WHAT I FORGOT YESTERDAY: on St. Patrick's Day 36 years ago, I met a young woman in a raucous bar. She remembered it when we woke up this morning.

TOMORROW: Thursday Arch Series, plus a new Arch photo on Gateway.