[et_pb_section fb_built=\u00a0\u00bb1″ _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb4.16″ global_colors_info=\u00a0\u00bb{}\u00a0\u00bb][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb4.16″ background_size=\u00a0\u00bbinitial\u00a0\u00bb background_position=\u00a0\u00bbtop_left\u00a0\u00bb background_repeat=\u00a0\u00bbrepeat\u00a0\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00a0\u00bb{}\u00a0\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00a0\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb4.16″ custom_padding=\u00a0\u00bb|||\u00a0\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00a0\u00bb{}\u00a0\u00bb custom_padding__hover=\u00a0\u00bb|||\u00a0\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00a0\u00bb4.22.2″ background_size=\u00a0\u00bbinitial\u00a0\u00bb background_position=\u00a0\u00bbtop_left\u00a0\u00bb background_repeat=\u00a0\u00bbrepeat\u00a0\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00a0\u00bb{}\u00a0\u00bb]<\/p>\n
A few days before I prepared my third art book \u2018\u2019Modern Impressions Book 3\u2019\u2019 for publishing, I had a very strange visit to my Hilton Head Island little art gallery.<\/span><\/p>\n A very handsome and well-dressed man walked in; there was such energy and self-assurance coming out from him that I immediately thought that this visitor might very well turn out into a client.<\/p>\n I was at the back of the gallery doing a painting, I quickly clean my hands and waited for him to stop in front of one of my paintings. This was the right moment, I walked towards him.<\/p>\n Hi! I said with an engaging smile.<\/p>\n Hi! He replied.<\/p>\n \u00a0The painting was a 36\u2033 x 36\u2033 landscape, one of the best if not the best I have ever produced and I was quite hopeful to make a sale to that fascinating man.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 Where are you from? I asked, hoping to put him in a good mood. \u00a0That answer surprised me, he did not look like a weirdo, but that was a strange reply. My hope to make a sale had just dropped considerably. I decided to go on and play the game with him.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 What\u2019s your name? I asked.<\/p>\n \u2013 You can call me God! He said with a smile.<\/p>\n \u00a0Wow! That\u2019s a good one, perhaps I should call Lise to come over and meet the weirdo\u2026 but before that, I decided to go a little further. Lise is my wife and a wonderful woman, but she does not like it when I tell her about the strange things that often happen in my life. She was reading a book behind the counter. I decided to wait for the conversation to go a little further before I would call her.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 That painting you are looking at is perhaps the best landscape painting I have ever produced. There is a good balance between the elements, the play of light, the color harmony and the movement of my pallet-knife is giving it a life of its own.<\/p>\n – I like it too.<\/p>\n – It is $10,000.00.<\/p>\n \u2013 I know Richard!<\/p>\n \u00a0He knew my name, but I did not recall ever meeting him. My memory is so weak. People visiting my gallery and meeting me usually remember me while I can\u2019t. I can\u2019t remember all those people I meet every day. I did not want to offend him and ask him where we have met before. I let it pass.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 Do you want it?<\/p>\n \u2013 Yes, I buy it.<\/p>\n \u00a0It was too easy; I could not believe he was sincere and yet the kind of man that says I can call him God could well buy the painting just to show me how important he is.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 Will you pay it by check or credit card? I asked, doubting that this was going to turn out into a sale.<\/p>\n \u2013 I already paid for it! I transferred the money into your checking account!<\/p>\n \u00a0Wow! That\u2019s a good one\u2026I thought, and easy to verify; for we artists are not used to have much money in our checking account and when we do have some, we are anxious to check the bank balance statement when we receive it. I had received it the day before and knew there was $38,000.00 in it. I had even told my wife about it to put her in a good mood. I decide to go on playing the game with him.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 Do you want me to bubble wrap it?<\/p>\n \u2013 There is no need, I already have it in my office! \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 But the painting is still on the wall\u2026<\/p>\n \u2013 I made you a copy! He replied.<\/p>\n \u00a0That was really becoming weird.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2013 Lise, I would like you to come over and meet my visitor.<\/p>\n \u2013 There is no one with you Richard, you are talking to your painting or to an imaginary person.<\/p>\n \u00a0I turned my head back toward the stranger, he wasn\u2019t there anymore. He had simply disappeared. I wasn\u2019t convinced that I had imagined the whole thing, it had been too real.<\/p>\n Perhaps there was a way to know if it was real, I decided to look at my bank statement. It was very recent; I had received it the day before. I went to my desk and pulled it out.<\/p>\n \u2013 What are you doing?<\/p>\n \u2013 Do you remember Lise how much there was in the bank statement? I showed it to you yesterday.<\/p>\n \u2013 Yes, it was $38,000.00, right?<\/p>\n \u2013 Yes, that\u2019s what it was, I remember clearly.<\/p>\n \u00a0I opened the file and there it was: a new total, $48,000.00!!!!!!!!<\/p>\n \u00a0I started shaking; the whole thing was true; I had just met with God and He had just bought one of my paintings. And\u2026 the painting on the wall of our art gallery was a God made copy!<\/p>\n I was under shock, God love my work, He came into our gallery, talked with me and bought one of my paintings; the very best I ever made perhaps, and it was now hanging in his office. But where would His office be? How did the money get deposited in my checking account?<\/p>\n \u00a0I called the bank to find out and they told me the money had just been wire-transferred from a Swiss bank. I did not ask for more info, I did not need to know from which bank, that was none of my business, it was God privacy, and I would not tell anyone the name of that bank, so, I didn\u2019t ask more info to my banker. I also decided that I would not sell the copy that God gave me.<\/p>\n I left the painting where it was, on the same wall and placed a card underneath \u00ab\u00a0God copy, not for sale\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n \u00a0Lise told me that people will laugh at me when seeing it, I would be ridiculed, it might even be detrimental to the gallery. I did not mind, and I did not think it would be detrimental.<\/p>\n I did not sell it.<\/p>\n \u00a0That event happened 21 years ago. So, now I wonder, Is it true? Did I make this up? Did I dream it and after a while thought it was a real event? You decide<\/u>. I may have dreamed the whole thing, right? Besides, I am a fiction writer. I added that story to my hard cover art book \u2018\u2019Modern Impression book 3\u2019\u2019, and it has not been detrimental.<\/p>\n \u00a0In the following 19 years, I made and sold more than 4000 original paintings, an unprecedented success. I closed my Hilton Head Island gallery in December 2019. I am still painting, and you can meet me at my Boynton Beach artist studio if you are interested in my art. I am there from November to end of April every year, the rest of the year you can meet me in my Laval, QC artist studio.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few days before I prepared my third art book \u2018\u2019Modern Impressions Book 3\u2019\u2019 for publishing, I had a very strange visit to my Hilton Head Island little art gallery. A very handsome and well-dressed man walked in; there was such energy and self-assurance coming out from him that I immediately thought that this visitor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
\u2013 I am from anywhere and everywhere!<\/p>\n| HISTOIRE EN ANGLAIS |<\/strong><\/h6>\r\nA few days before I prepared my art book 3 for impression, I had a very strange visit at my Hilton Head Island little art gallery.<\/span>\r\n\r\nA man walked in; a very handsome and well dressed man walked in and there was such energy and self assurance coming out from him that I immediately thought that this visitor might very well turn out into a\u00a0 client. I was at the back of the gallery and I waited until he stop in front of one of my paintings.\r\n\r\nThis was the right moment and I walked towards him.\r\n\r\nHi! I said with most engaging smile.\r\n\r\nHi! He replied.\r\n\r\nThe painting was a 36\" x 36\" landscape, one of the best if not the best I ever produced and I was quite hopeful to make a sale to that fascinating man.\r\n\r\n- Where are you from? I asked hoping to put him in a good mood\r\n- Anywhere and everywhere! He said.\r\n\r\nOh my God, I thought, another weirdo. My hope to make a sale had just drop considerably. I decided to go on and play the game with him.\r\n\r\n- What's your name? I asked.\r\n\r\n- You can call me God! He said with a smile.\r\n\r\nWow! That\u2019s a good one, perhaps I should call Lise to come over and meet the weirdo\u2026 but before that, I decided to go a little further. Lise is my wife and she was reading a book behind the counter.\r\n\r\n- It is $10,000.00. I said.\r\n\r\n- I know Richard!\r\n\r\nHe knew my name but I did not recall ever meeting him. My memory is so weak. People visiting my gallery and meeting me usually remember me while I could not remember all those people I meet every day. I\u00a0 did not want to offend him and I let it pass.\r\n\r\n- Do you want it? I asked.\r\n\r\n- Yes, I buy it.\r\n\r\nIt was too easy, I could not believe he was sincere and yet the kind of man that says I can call him God could well buy the painting just to show how important he is.\r\n\r\n- Will you pay it by check or credit card? I asked, doubting that this was going to turn out into a sale.\r\n\r\n- I already paid it! I transferred the money into your checking account!\r\n\r\nWow! That's a good one...I thought, and easy to verify; for we artists are not used to have much money in our checking account and when we do have some, we are anxious to check the bank statement balance when we receive it. And I had received it the day before and knew there was $38,000.00 in it. I had even told my wife about it to put her in a good mood.\r\n\r\n- Do you want me to bubble wrap it? I asked just to play the game with him.\r\n\r\n- I already got it in my office! The man that wanted to be called God said.\r\n\r\n- But the painting is still on the wall...\r\n\r\n- I made you a copy! He replied.\r\n\r\nAt that moment I called my wife to come over and when I turned my head back toward the stranger, he wasn't there anymore. He had simply disappeared.\r\n\r\nAfterward Lise, my charming wife, who never miss an opportunity to humble me (it\u2019s all right, I deserve it and I love her very much) told me \" there was no one with you, you were talking with yourself ...\"\r\n\r\nI wasn\u2019t convinced; I still thought something happened; I thought I really met that man and I decided to pull out my bank statement from the drawer.\r\n\r\n- You remember how much there was in it yesterday? $38,000.00 right? I told my wife.\r\n\r\n- Yes that's what you told me. She replied.\r\n\r\nI opened up the file and there it was: a new total, $48,000.00!!!!!!!!\r\n\r\nI started shaking; the whole thing was true; I had just met with God and He had just bought one of my paintings.\r\nAnd... the painting on the wall of our art gallery was a God made copy!!!!!!\r\n\r\nI was under shock, God love my work, I thought, \u00a0and He came into our gallery, talked with me and bought one of my paintings; the very best I ever made perhaps, and it was now hanging in his office. But where would His office be? How did the money get deposited in my checking account?\r\n\r\nI called the bank to find out and they told me the money had just been wire-transferred from a Swiss bank.\r\n\r\nI decided that this was none of my business and I won\u2019t tell anyone the name of that bank for I didn\u2019t ask it to my banker.\r\n\r\nI decided not to sell the copy that God gave me.\r\n\r\nThe painting is still there, on the same wall and there is a card underneath \"God copy, not for sale\"\r\n\r\nI will never sell it. You can come over to see it if you wish, you are welcome.\r\n\r\nIs it true? Did I make this up? Did I dream it and after a while thought it was a real event? You decide. I may have dream the whole thing, right? Beside I am a fiction writer so \u2026But the card \u201cGod\u2019s copy, not for sale\u201d is still under the painting.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-1450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-histoires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1450"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4331,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1450\/revisions\/4331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1450"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardriverin.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=1450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}