Artist Cliff Welty's Wife Stuns the Crowd at Galleria 409

     When an elegant lady walked into Galleria 409 with the exact costume reflected in the artist's work on the north wall, the crowd gasped.  It was the wife of artist Cliff Welty, the featured artist, wearing the exact dress depicted in the portrait.  Welty paints tiny grids that appear as realistic portraits from a distance.  The individual grids are art works in themselves, with words or designs. 

     The gallery itself is a work of art, the home of Mark Clark.  "My ex-wife got the house after the divorce.  I got this."  A circular stairs leads to his loft.  A balcony provides a view of 13th Street, but a glimpse of Matamoros is blocked by the George W. Bush Border Wall.  I mentioned that the building seemed straight and upright for an older edifice.  "Yeah, this wall is two inches off.  We usually hang paintings by the brick work.  They might match the mortar on top, but be off a bit on the bottom.  The bricklayers probably had a few too many cervezas."