Today’s art was done very quickly Sunday, quietly so that Mrs. PopCulteer didn’t find out about it.

Not that I paint that loudly.

You see, today is January 19, and in addition to it being the day we observe Martin Luthor King Day this year, it’s also the anniversary of the day I met Melanie Larch at a Stark Raven CD Release party at The Charleston Playhouse.

That was 36 years ago. We’ve been a couple since 1990, and we finally got married in 2014.

Mel is not one to rush into things. In fact, we’d been together 16 years before she ever let me take a photograph of her. Mel hates having her picture taken. Strange for a veteran stage performer, I know, but I do not question the ways of mah queen. Today’s very quick and sloppy acrylic painting on cheap canvas board is based on that photo I took twenty years ago.

Since then, Mel has loosened up a bit, and has allowed me to take her photo nearly four more times. But she really hates it. If you have a photo you took of Mel and are still alive, count yourself lucky.

But, since Mel was very happy with this photo, and since she is the most important thing in my life and the anniversary of the day we met falls on a Monday, I decided to do a real-world painting inspired by that first photo for this week’s Monday Morning Art. I just had to rush to get it done without her finding out. Despite my shaky hands from an MG flare-up, I had to do this for my love.

If you want to see this image larger, click HERE.

Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR, we bring you a classic episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM we do the same with Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page.

Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.

Tonight at 9 PM we bring you our Monday night line-up featuring two hours each of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, plus six hours overnight with an assortment of our programming from Haversham Recording Institute. The Haversham stuff starts at 1 AM and tonight it’s all Nigel Pye and Psychedelic Shack.

Tomorrow, Radio Free Charleston will be a special encore presentation because your humble blogger normally records the show on Mondays, and I have other stuff to do today.

Anniversary stuff.