Florida painter Daniel Ambrose forgot to sign a painting, but he deftly multi-tasked and managed to get his piece to a collector via UPS in a rather dramatic way.

Lead Image: The painting Ambrose was working on when a familiar brown truck came down the road. “Waiting for UPS,” by Daniel Ambrose, 2015, oil.

Ambrose was painting a railroad crossing on the quiet St. George Peninsula in Maine, but his mind was on a painting he had promised to deliver. He had it boxed up and labeled, ready for UPS, but at the moment, he was painting along the side of a rural road.

“Companionship,” by Daniel Ambrose
“Companionship,” by Daniel Ambrose

“I saw a UPS truck driving through my view right toward me,” he says. “It was really barreling down the road.” Ambrose ran to his car, grabbed the package, and stood by the side of the road, holding the box over his head like he was a protester. The UPS driver saw him at the last minute and pulled over. He accepted the package and went on his way. Package delivered, plein air painter style.

Plein air study for “Companionship,” by Daniel Ambrose
Plein air study for “Companionship,” by Daniel Ambrose

“I was preparing to ship it to a gallery when I realized I hadn’t signed the egg tempera piece,” says Ambrose, filling out the back story. “I didn’t feel like breaking an egg, etc, just to sign it, so I threw it in the car for Maine. In order to insure it, I had to track down a UPS driver and have them sign off on it. Finally, I figured that with only one road heading out of Port Clyde, my best chance would be to take up a position near the exit. It took me four days. I was painting the Anderson farm when I looked up and saw the brown truck. I ran to the car, grabbed the box and stood in the middle of the road with it high over my head. He was just crossing the railroad tracks and whipped over to the side.”


1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here