The Oshkosh Pirate Exhibit
01 JUL 05

I wanted to take a moment to plug the new Pirate Exhibit in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It's not every day that the midwest gets to experience true piratey goodness, but the folks at the Oshkosh Public Museum have done a right fantastic job for us. They've taken a moderately sized section of their establishment and filled it with weapons, pictures, and even a gibbeted corpse! Each corner has background sounds (I distinctly noticed the lyrics of Skip Hendrickson at one point,) and numerous "hands on" items, including pirate costumes for the kids and an actual "firing" cannon. I had an absolute blast, and highly recommend it to anyone willing to brave Wisconsin this season.

Ok, glowing speal over - now let's get to the meat at hand. Aside from pulling out all the stops and making one hell of an exhibit, the Oshkosh Museum has also managed to borrow a number of origninal Don Maitz paintings. Likely you're already familiar with Don's work - colorful scaliwags brim with personality as they stare up at us from Captain Morgan labels, the cover of "Well Blow Me Down", and any of a hundred other souces. I myself had seen his work hundreds of times, and while I liked it just fine my socks were never quite knocked off. But then I went to Oshkosh...

If you haven't seen Don Maitz's original paintings, then you MUST go to Oshkosh. Step on your own grandma to get there, if you have to, just DO IT! The first of his paintings I saw there was the seven-foot long Forty Thieves. At first glance, I thought is was a special effect - the colors were so vibrant that I would have sworn the whole thing was translucent and backlit. It was incredible. The exhibit easily featured at least a dozen pieces of his work, and each was mind-numbingly beautiful.

Go to Oshkosh now (cuz the exhibit closes in October.)