Artist Using Barter To Start Over
Celebrated Montana landscape artist, publisher and restaurateur
Russell Chatham told the San
Francisco Chronicle that he's left Montana and returned to his
home in West Marin in hopes of painting his way out of financial
ruin.
“My sole possessions in this universe are 10 gray T-shirts and three
pairs of overalls,” says Chatham, according to reporter Sam Whiting,
who adds that barter has become Chatham's favored means of commerce.
In short, Chatham made some bad investments in Livingston real
estate. His artwork is still in high demand, but he hasn't painted
in years and has no inventory to sell. It's not the first time
Chatham’s hit a rough patch, but this blow is enough to have him
leave Montana behind.
“I’m probably going to end up with foreclosures, and there’s nothing
I can do about it,” he’s quoted as saying. “I’m probably going to
have to reconstruct my life here (in California).
The most telling example of Montana in his rear view: He’s working
on a memoir about fishing. But it’s not about Montana’s treasured
waterways — it's about fishing the San Francisco Bay.
