Ben

There are numerous stories throughout history about women sinking ships and men conquering countries, but no recollection of dogs stopping art shows. Thankfully, that page in history won’t have to be written because Ben has been found.

Artist Edward Wimberly brought the family dog Ben with him from St. Matthews a couple of weeks back. The artist needed a few supplies to finalize his paintings for the upcoming four–man art show with friends Stephen Chesley, Mike Williams, and David Yaghjian.

Wimberly was concentrating on getting his errands done and getting back to his canvases in St. Matthews. The Brittany spaniel knew his master was distracted. When Wimberly went in a shop, Ben hopped out of the car and started out on a self-guided sight–seeing excursion.

When Wimberly realized Ben was missing, all thoughts of art were forgotten. Finding Ben was all the artist could think of. “I lost a lot of productive time looking for him,” said the artist whose unfinished work set dormant on the easels in his studio.

Wimberly eventually found Ben and took him back to his children in St. Matthews. “My paintings may still be wet when I get them to Vista Studios, but they’ll be ready now that we’ve got our dog back.”

While the artist was postponing the completion of his paintings, Ben was in the lap of luxury. “He had been taken in by a shop owner who turned him over to an employee. “I found out he had been allowed to sleep in the bed with his rescuer, and when we got him back, he smelled like he had had a bubble bath,” said Wimberly.

The fourth annual show will open at 808 Lady Street this weekend, and will be on view through February 9.