PHOTOS BY JAMES HALL
A couple weeks ago, I drove out to Gallery Route One in Pt. Reyes for an interview. I love making that drive--it's basically a winding one-laner through Marin countryside out past quirky little towns with various random coffeehouses, vintage shops and saloon-ish bars I always mean to stop at some other time when I'm able to be more leisurely--with oceanside Pt. Reyes, the quirkiest and coolest of all, as my endpoint. It kinda reminds me of the road to Hana or driving around Upcountry Maui trying to get lost before you realize that eventually you WILL come full circle. Yes, that's meant to be profound.
But so...I had never been to Gallery Route One but was enthralled immediately, especially by their mission statement: "We believe that art is an intellectual and spiritual necessity that belongs in every community." It's a small space but they managed to utilize it well, with a few very interesting exhibits going on: "Six New Paintings" by Will Thoms, Mardi Burnham's "Nature's Pharmacopia" and "Usual and Unusual Sightings" by Pauline Greenfield and Andrew Romanoff--the subject of my Q&A.
I was also immediately captivated and charmed by Andrew, who makes his art using Shrinky Dinks and, as it turns out, is a direct descendant of the Romanov royal family in Russia (before they were overthrown by the Bolsheviks), thereby making him officially "His Serene Highness Andrew Romanoff." And really, he was rather princely. I mean, check out that ascot! He was quite stylish and smiley--and very sweet--with a lovely British/Russian accent that I could've listened to for hours.
He has this awesome book, too, called The Boy Who Would Be Tsar, that features some of his artwork and history. It's pretty great, actually.
Plus, he had this slightly mischievous or playful twinkle in his eye... and I do believe he patted my ass when we hugged goodbye. Well, whatever...He was so cute and charming I totally didn't mind it.
Anyway, here's the article I wrote about him. I'm pretty sure my editor wanted this story written partly because of the plethora of headline possibilities. Among them, "Shrinky Dinky Little Tsar," "Tsar Trek" and yes, "Dude, where's my Tsar?!" We inevitably went with "A Tsar is Born." Thank goodness.
