A number of years ago, I was pretty sure I had the inside track for the project of painting a large astronomical mural for our planetarium. At the last minute I was nudged out so that another artist who was 'more familiar' with the subject got the assignment. That was Michael Carroll, whose repute within the astro-art field I was unaware of at the time. I took the loss of the project in stride, as these things happen, but when I visited Michael in the middle of his work on-site and he good-naturedly asked if I would be interested in being hired to stretch canvases for his other work—well I felt like I'd fallen in the mud. Bless his heart, he did nothing wrong by asking.
My pride was stung for more than a little while. I'm well over that now, and can even blog about it. And Michael, if you happen to look in on this post, I've admired your work in the books and magazines, and I think this painting of yours, below, of deep water luminescent organisms is mighty fine. You of course were the better artist for the mural project, but I just know I coulda been a contenda.
Michael Carroll — Deep Water Life
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