He’s not the real Elvis of course. In fact my very good friend’s name isn’t really Elvis. Dean Johnstone lives and works in far away Christchurch, New Zealand. That’s about as far as one can get away from Yarrow and still be on this planet. Some day I hope to get there.
I first met Dean, AKA Elvis, in Mazeppa, Minnesota about five years ago. I was at a sign painter’s convention - which we call it a Letterhead meet. I was sitting high on a scaffold, painting a graphic of a monster truck cartoon on a massive trailer. The talented dude painting next to me was Dean. We became instant friends. As we talked we found that we had a lot in common. Dean paints large murals, builds submarines, space ships, planes, castles, dragons and a whole lot more. His head is chock full of thousands of ideas. He is massively excited about everything he does... When I talk to him it is like looking in a mirror and talking to myself... although he looks different of course and he talks funny too. Dean & I share family values and a passion for life and the work we love. It’s not often I can really talk with someone about what I enjoy so much for days on end and have them enjoy it as much as I - sharing their knowledge and experience in return. Dean and I will undoubtably be life long friends.
Dean owns a cool business called JBFX. www.jbfx.co.nz
This past weekend he travelled all the way from Christchurch (via New York) to spend a couple of days in my studio. We laughed, shared ‘secrets’, played in the shop, broke bread, and generally had a whole bunch of fun. We did a whirlwind road trip to some of my favorite places. I beat him handily at a game of mini golf up at Giggle Ridge. The time flew by in an instant. Then, sadly, it was time for him to head down the road...
After he left I wondered why he had to live so very far away. But as I thought about it suddenly made sense... we are on opposite sides of the world for a very good reason. It probably helps to keep things somewhat in balance. If we lived closer the planet might just wobble a bit more than it already does... :)
-grampa dan