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The name Manitou Jack comes from a gift shop that my wife and I visited in 1998 in Manitou Springs, Colorado. We appreciated the service and the type of merchandise they carry, but are not affiliated with the store in any way. I'm using the alias strictly for fun and hope that the owners don't mind a bit of free publicity.
This website is intended as a pictorial tribute to the artists and designers whose works continue to make a very strong and positive impression on my family's life. Until one fateful trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota, we never had any particular interest in art. The sculptures by Chris Pardell were a revelation, and what might be characterized as an impulse purchase while on vacation immediately turned into an all-consuming passion. After picking up our first four pieces, which included The Tables Turned and American Horse Takes His Name, we were compelled to return the very next morning for yet three more sculptures before starting home. Since that time, the proverbial snowball effect has led us to explore other art forms, each with its own kind of appeal. I can only hope that some of the images found here will pique your curiosity.
I'm constantly adding, replacing, or enhancing the pictures, so please visit often. The site originally consisted only of scanned images of photos taken with my 35mm Minolta. Just an amateur using 20th-century hardware. I finally gave in to the digital age in 2003 and switched to a Canon PowerShot G5. It is now quite the dinosaur, but I take pride in photographing all of the art with nothing more than the G5 and a $20 tripod from the Target Stores. For the landscape pictures, I use a Nikon COOLPIX P510.
If you have a comment or questions, I apologize for not making available my contact information. I used to maintain a Guestbook on this website and have answered hundreds of questions regarding current market values, original retail prices, where to buy and sell, collecting tips, information on specific artists and their works, etc. Over the course of 12 years, only one, maybe two out of 10 people who asked questions would bother to acknowledge receipt of my replies, and I've simply lost the motivation to answer mail. Hopefully, you will still find some of the site content to be useful.
Thanks to my family and friends for the love and support.
Thanks to the FrontPage Wiz, who helped keep my HTML elegant. She also happens to be my daughter. Microsoft doesn't even support FrontPage any longer, but it does the job.
I'm grateful to Peter Samerjan for sending the original JPEGs and stories for Michelle's wonderful paintings. I'm using Peter's images for the simple reason that I can't imagine doing a better job of photographing Michelle's works than Peter has.
The artist biographies are copied from product brochures and various websites.
There should be a vertical site navigation bar on the left of your screen. If it's not there, click the following link, www.manitouj.com, to display it.
Background music for the slideshows no longer plays because Adobe Flash Player has reached end-of-life and is no longer supported.
The thumbnail below takes you to the Picture Gallery menu page.
