Show THE TOY BULLDOG mickey walker 45 sure hell paint real stuff features NEW YORK CITY although he is 45 years old he thinks that in about four years hell be doing the kind of painting called the real stuff the way mickey walker former welterweight and middleweight boxing champion of the world looks at his art career it was five years ago that mickey decided to take up the easel ease and start mixing the paints he saw a movie based on the life of gauguin in which a man in middle age left fame and fortune to become a painter in the south seas mickey decided to become a painter in the united states where he is known as a tough little guy and what about his 45 years well in dickeys Mic keys opinion age is the best thing that can happen to a man it gives him iome some sense he no longer wants to sit around in a night club or think only of blondes and champagne age helps a man know what he can do and ought to do painting not like writing mickey spends a lot of time now in the quiet atmosphere of his ram X I 1 YIN tn BOXER well he used to be mickey walker former welterweight ter weight champion of the world is shown show n b here er C working on a canvas off to school in new york the large painting in the background is main alain street bling elizabeth N J home surrounded by canvases and shelves stocked with books he paints and occasionally writes but then he worries about his grammar and remembers that he was lucked kicked out of school for fighting when he was in the eighth grade painting is different from writing and mickey is considered by critics as one of the outstanding contributors of primitives at the american contemporary artists gallery where he has had two exhibitions one of his best collections were painted on his mile USO tour through south america africa and india where he served as a master of ceremonies for a sports show got a scare once one day he was painting on victoria beach in central africa during that tour he had bad set up his easel on the sand and started painting when all was quiet he painted for a while when he sensed something and heard a twig snap when he turned around there were about 2000 natives standing there watching him not saying a word they turned out to be friendly but curious still taking it a little easy because of a touch of malaria he contracted while on the USO tour mickey is glued to his studio iles hes serious about his painting some of these days it will make hirr some money he feels but hes glad that he was a boxer and managed to save some money he admits |