In the Fort Worth Museum District

There are several not-to-be-missed shows over in the Fort Worth Museum district these days, which caused me to put aside my visceral hatred of what the City of Fort Worth is doing over there.

First off, if you haven't done so yet, GO TODAY and check out the Lucian Freud show at the Modern. I'd been waiting with barely concealed eagerness since first hearing of it last year, and it does not disappoint. An absolutely fabulous show. Warning, if naked people upset you, take a Xanax and get over it.

The accounts I've read of Freud's life would lead one to conclude he may not have been the nicest person to wander the earth, but he is by-god one hell of a painter.  This is, by the way, the only US venue of this outstanding show, and is up until October 28, 2012.

Once you've finished with the Freud show, you owe it to yourself to wander over to the Amon Carter Museum, and check out the show, American Vanguards: Graham, Davis, Gorky, De Kooning and Their Circle, 1927 - 1942. The Amon Carter does a consistently good job on shows like this. Before you leave, also find the exhibition, Industrial Monuments: Photographs and Works on Paper from the Machine Age. I'm  a sucker for works on paper and actually enjoyed this more than the American Vanguards show (as good as that was). You may need to ask a guard where the Industrial Monuments show is on display - it's a little hard to find.

A retirement

I first met Jim Woodson, lo these many years ago, when I was a long-haired painting major at TCU. And now, some 38 years later, he has the audacity to retire.

I had a number of excellent instructors when I was at TCU and Jim was at the top of the list.

He had a gentle way of guiding one back when you'd strayed a little too far off the path without making you feel as though you'd screwed up or wasted a lot of time and effort

His wife Barbara threw a retirement party for him last Friday that was a gathering of the tribes. I saw old friends I hadn't seen in 20 years and students that could have been my kids.

Dan Shepley, a friend from high school days who later was a college roommate, made it down from Indianapolis. Back in the day, Dan and I lived in an apartment that was across the alley from Jim's house. Watching Monty Python at Jim's was one of our Sunday rituals (along with eating Mexican food at Pancho's Mexican Buffet).

Good times...

Good luck, Jim, and thanks for everything!