Artist Using Barter To Start Over

Celebrated Montana landscape artist, publisher and restaurateur Russell Chatham told the San Francisco Chronicle that he's left Montana and returned to his home in West Marin in hopes of painting his way out of financial ruin.

�My sole possessions in this universe are 10 gray T-shirts and three pairs of overalls,� says Chatham, according to reporter Sam Whiting, who adds that barter has become Chatham's favored means of commerce.

In short, Chatham made some bad investments in Livingston real estate. His artwork is still in high demand, but he hasn't painted in years and has no inventory to sell. It's not the first time Chatham�s hit a rough patch, but this blow is enough to have him leave Montana behind.

�I�m probably going to end up with foreclosures, and there�s nothing I can do about it,� he�s quoted as saying. �I�m probably going to have to reconstruct my life here (in California). 

The most telling example of Montana in his rear view: He�s working on a memoir about fishing. But it�s not about Montana�s treasured waterways � it's about fishing the San Francisco Bay.