The Mount Dora Art Festival occurs this weekend (which is a fantastic event – if you’re in the area, please stop by and enjoy it.) But it always reminds me of the one time when I put my “artistic” foot down in my house.

My wife and I enjoy displaying original art in our home and, as an ex-art history major, my wife has made most of the decisions when it came to acquiring a new piece. Most meaning all… all but one. We were with a dealer who had a oil painting my wife fancied but it was priced a little high. She was bargaining when I spotted an oil that I liked even more than the one she was trying to buy. So I said, “How much for this one?” He was quick with the reply. “Tell you what, you meet my price, I will throw that one in for free.”

“Sold,” I quickly agreed before he could change his mind. I looked proudly at my wife who did not, at that moment, notice my pleased expression because she was too busy rolling her eyes.

On the way home with our possessions, I was giddy with the great deal that we made. She was a bit more subdued. So I dropped my ace card. “You may not have noticed, but my painting was signed by “C. Burnett.” You and I may very well be the owners of an original Carol Burnett.”

Again with the eye roll. “You don’t know that.” “Not yet,” I explained, “But I will soon find out.”

While she hung her painting in our dining room, I took mine to my office and propped it on top of my bookcase. And I began googling.

A few hours later, I sheepishly approached my wife.  “Well, we don’t have a Carol Burnett.” She looked at me. “So what exactly do we have?” “We have something that was apparently churned out by a Mexican production line. Burnett is not the name of the artist. It is however what one art critic suggested we could do with it… Burn it.”

I came home the next day to find that my Burnett was no longer in my office. It now occupies a space in our garage, propped up against the tool chest.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit http://www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.