Editor:

I first met Michael Guerriero in 1980 ("Artbeat," July 4). My wife, Zula Belle, had arranged for him to show his serigraphs to several of our friends at our home in Trinidad. As the reception was winding down Zula Belle told me we were buying the Trinidad Clam Beach picture.

This was a view from northbound 101 where the highway drops down in front of the bluff giving an overview of Clam Beach with Trinidad Head in the distance. It's a spectacular view that I saw every workday driving home from HSU. My problem was that the waves breaking on Clam Beach didn't look right. We bought the picture anyway.

The next day the question was what should we do with this relatively large piece of work? About a year before, a family member had given us a seascape done in oils that we had hung above our fireplace. I took the painting down and replaced it with Michael's work. It was as if a light had gone on in our living room. Three weeks later, I was driving home from work and, as usual, looked out to enjoy the view over Clam Beach to Trinidad. And there were Michael's waves breaking on the beach! There is something about good art teaching us to see things more clearly.

We have acquired several of Michael's serigraphs since 1980. One of my favorites is a view from Table Bluff Road looking west with the Eel River bottom on the left and Table Bluff and some big cypress trees on the right. Above, a pinkish cloud, which looks like a soft thunderbolt, stretches diagonally across the sky. Table Bluff is one of our favorite rides and the setting of the picture is very familiar. I doubt that I will ever see a real pinkish cloud that looks like a thunderbolt, but this time, I'm willing to take Michael's word for it.

Frank Jewett, Eureka