Sunday, March 19, 2006

Thank you everyone!

All the prints for the Green River Access Fund are spoken for. Thank you to everyone who bought one, thus donating money to the access fun, in memory of Daniel.

But, you still have an opportunity to contribute to the access fund directly.

Green River Access Fund
765 Crest Road
Flat Rock, NC 28773

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Daniel DeLaVergne/Green River Access Fund


In memory of Daniel DeLavergne and to benefit the Green River Access Fund:
I have set aside 6 etchings (framed) in which ALL profits will go towards the Green River Access Fund, as Daniel would have wanted. I encourage EVERYONE to donate money to this fund.

Green River Access Fund
765 Crest Road
Flat Rock, NC 28773

If you need encouragement, would like something to get you motiviated, or even something to remember Daniel by, then you can buy one of these prints. After everything is processed and sent to you, I will write a check to the Green River Access Fund in Daniel's name.

Let me tell you a little bit about these prints....
Etchings are made by hand, and can be made in very limited editions. The last a very long time and are of much better quality than even "archival" computer printer copies. If you look closely, you will see the raised black ink that results from the ancient printing process. You will notice the human touch in every print, because although they look alike, each print is just slightly different.

I have carried this "human touch" one step further, by hand coloring each of these black and white prints, with water color paint. I hand color a few copies of every etching that I have made, and normally reserve them as special gifts for very special friends. The boating community has become my family. Daniel was one of my first boating friends outside if the northeast, as I expanded my horizons into the larger whitewater community. Although I did not know Daniel well, every time I met with him we had an instant connection, a comfort, a familiarity of fellow dirtbag boaters who are on a mission to just chill out and enjoy boating while pushing our personal limits on the river. (it is an oxymoron to the average person,but I am constantly amazed at how boaters can push themselves, push their limits, be totally focused on the river, and be some of the most grounded, mellow, mature people off of the river).

So. Six prints for Daniel. Six framed prints that will help bring us one step further towards a guaranteed access point to the Green.

Of the image of the kayaker doing the blunt; there are four that are hand colored. I will keep one for my personal collection. There are only THREE available for sale. There is another series from the same printing plate (20), but it only exists in black and white. There are only four total that are colored by hand! Of those four hand colored prints, I will sell three to benefit Daniel's charity of the Green River Access Fund.

Regarding the other print. It is called "to be run". And, is a scouting view, looking over the edge of a drop, of a low-volume, Appalacian creek which I have run every drop except that one. Thus the name "to be run". I have the ability to run it now, but have not been in that area for the few days that it runs. 7 years in a row, I have missed it. Someday, it will run, and I will run the drop, linking all of the drops together. I'm sure that everyone has a rapid or drop like that. The one that you scouted a million times, walked a bunch of times, dreamt of the right river level.... I have this image of Daniel going through the same process. What is the process of finally deciding to go for it? The right level. The sun shining at just the right angle. The right water temperature. The right crew, your trusted crew

This is the "3rd state" of this print. That means that it is the third attempt at getting the image right. It is the final image. The one that worked best in black and white. Very few were left over from this run. Twenty three. I decided to make a series of twenty black and white, and spend some time hand coloring three of them. So, in summary, 20 black and white for the mass public, gallery folk, and 3 extra special, extra cared for, colored by my own hand, for the boating community, in memory of Daniel. Each one of these is a different color. Each one is unique. One is blue.One is green. One is turquoise. Each color is a warm water representations. The warm water that we are blessed to paddle here on the East Coast. The warm water that embraces us, and lets us play.

There are two details of how these things look in the frames. The IMAGE for the blunt is 6" x 6", but the entire framed piece is about 9" x 12". The image of the drop is 4" x 8", but the framed piece is 9" x 12". I just put these in so you could get an idea of what they look like framed; what they'll look like when I send them to you in the mail.
I have bought a brushed black metal gallery quality frame for each of these six prints. They have plexi glass so will last a long time.

Here is what will happen when you contact me:
We will arrange a mailing address. Someplace that you will like these prints to be sent.
Send me a check for the price of each print ($125 each), and I will send you a framed print. At the same time, I will send the profits to Green River Access Fund, in memory of Daniel DeLavergne.

Email me to set it up.
Scott@Lozer.com

Thank you Daniel for being a chill dude and living an awesome whitewater life.
Thank you everyone for helping the Green River Access Fund

Scott Barnes

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Surfing without a Wave?

ok. this looks funny at first. they sent me a promo video on disk and after watching it a couple of times I must admit that I'm starting to get intrigued. I have just started picturing all of the spots of flat water that have some slowly moving current. This just might open up some fun during the mid summer low water season. Who knows. It's an option......

http://www.bansheeriverboards.com/photos.htm

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

DC/Baltimore message boards

http://www.monocacycanoe.org/mccboard/mccboard.html

http://baltimorecanoeclub.org.smf/index/php

and more message boards to add. It's great to see how much talk, and how many communities are really out there in the boating world. Check out some of the talk outside of your local area and perhaps have fun reading a different perspective.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Playak

http://www.playak.com
in case you've been hiding your head in the sand, here is a super huge site about kayaking all over the world. It has lots of European stuff, but also tons of spots from around the world. Free to join up so that you can contribute to the documetation of your favorite local playspot and river run.
Yes. It has a message board too, and a very comprehensive list of the large variety of kayaks that are out there.

Simply the best trick in the world

This has been getting lots of attention lately. It is very creative. Someone is using their imagination. The funny thing is that some people just didn't get it. Oh well. Can't please everyone. But, I'm sure that you'll like it. It's called the Air McGoon.
http://www.lozer.com/articles/lozer_news/air_mcgoon.html

Corran is a madman

http://www.2imagine.net
he lives on a shoestring budget and makes lots of people mad.
either because he is not afraid to give you his real opinion
or he keeps experimenting so that we can all have different toys to play with (not just a new color and logo)
or it could be that as soon as his hands get tied by marketing departments, he leaves and does something truly unique and new.
A true artist. Tempermental. Irrational. Creative fun hog.

New England and BEYOND...

http://www.npmb.com
Northeast Paddler's Message Board
Mostly New England and New York, but contibutors and topics represent the entire East Coast.
If you are a boater at heart, you'll need to check this message board out.
Great thing about New England is, that during the winter, they have snow to ski and board on. So, there is a great cross section of many sports here.

Boatertalk

http://www.boatertalk.com
mostly southern boaters, with a scattered group of boaters from almost every other state are duking it out in the vitual world here. Sign up and read the rhetoric! Hear the day-to-day talk about so many southeastern whitewater classics (and more)

Colorado message board

http://www.mountainbuzz.com
Mountain sports. Mountain fun. All in the state of Colorado (half covered with mountains...)
Post a message. Get into arguements. Make friends.

California message board

http://www.boof.com
If you are a west coast boater, or just want to be, then you need to get on this message board to check things out.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Super Sweet Kayaks

http://www.dragorossi.com
There are some very cool and some innovative designs on this sight. (also a cool dragon with flames for a logo...) Check it out. Gain some insight into the state of the art design that is happening right now on the message board too....

are you a Lozer?

http://www.lozer.com
Lozer.com? It should be self explainatory, but then again, what lozer is.....
this is just for fun, the fun that can be had in a kayak, or on a bike, or wherever else you choose to Loze. I found out that if you send them a funny article or photo, they'll give you some schwag (that's free stuff in case you didn't know)