Interview with Dale
Taken from Gettysburg Times Oct 5, 2018
by Ken Picking, Staff Writer
Husband-wife business teams can be fragile at best, but Dale & Anne Gallon have been making it work successfully since 1980. It all starts with agreeing on an idea and business plan which is not a minor dinner conversation! Here is how they have made it work and a few of their reflections:
First & foremost, Dale creates an oil painting working with his historians to insure historical accuracy. (see more at “Creating a Gallon”) The next step is to present it to the public which is Anne’s expertise. Anne markets Gallon art & sells it. She is quick to say that she has wonderful employees who assist with framing & marketing. Recently, the Gallon website was revamped to make it even easier for customers to view & purchase the art. To sum up Gallon Historical Art, one can say that their partnership and marriage are a Gallon Masterpiece all on its own.
Dale says: “Our functions are totally different. I research and plaint while Anne runs the retail and wholesale business. If we were both trying to do the same thing at the same time, it would not work.”
The Gallons met near the end of 1960s on a blind date in Long Beach, CA when Dale worked for McDonald Douglas Aircraft (now Boeing) and Anne was a flight attendant based in Los Angeles. They were married in 1969 and for their first 7 years of marriage lived on a 40’ wooden sailboat in Newport Beach, CA.
Anne says: Dale & I have always worked well together because we have common goals. First, to raise happy and productive sons. Second, to develop a business together in order to make a living. Our relationship is built on support of each other and this works well in both our personal & business lives.”
Some Q&A – When interviewed by Ken Picking
Q How did you get from Los Angeles to Gettysburg?
DALE: Anne & I took a trip to Gettysburg and thought perhaps we could make a living selling my art….and, after 40 years, I guess I can see that it worked!
Q: When & how did you decide to make Gettysburg your home?
ANNE: The airlines wanted me to transfer to Houston. With two young boys, I did not want to commute so, after 16 years of being a flight attendant, I retired. We sold our home & moved to Gettysburg where our third son was born 3 months later. Dale enjoyed being near the battlefield so it worked.
DALE: Customers started buying my paintings and prints so I kept painting more & more. I wanted to make each painting historically accurate so it took a lot of time to research. We were fortunate to have great historians working with us. Col. (Ret) Sam Floca and Wayne Motts have been invaluable.
Q: How do you paint those hundreds of tiny Blue & Gray soldiers
DALE: With a very small brush. I start working in big areas – sky, foreground, people, and horses – without any detail. Then as the painting progresses, I focus in on specific areas.
Q: Dale…where did your talent come from?
DALE: It’s just always been there. I don’t know why. As a little boy, I would make drawings and show them to my parents. It would get me a lot of positive strokes. I have been very blessed, very lucky to be able to do what I love my entire life.
Q: Dale… What are the best and worst parts of what you do?
DALE: The best is when something comes out better than you expected. Sometimes the worst part is not doing the preparation for an image and then, getting half-way through and finding out that it is not working. Then I have to work harder than usual to make it successful.
Q: Anne…How has your business changed?
ANNE: It used to be just originals & prints that we sold, but now there are canvas giclees that are very popular.
We now offer canvas giclees in three sizes. Also, when the movie “Gettysburg” was being shot in town, many of the actors appreciated our work. In fact, our historian, Col. Floca, worked very closely with Sam Elliott who played Buford. We have many customers whose friendship we value.
Q: Anne…How has the Internet impacted your business:
ANNE: Many people google Civil War Art and Gallon Historical Art comes up so we sell to those new customers as well as to our valued customer base of 8,000.
Q: Dale…Will you ever retire?
DALE: I have always enjoyed painting so I do not think I will ever quit. I seem to always have several commissions coming up so right now I don’t even think about retirement!
For more information about Dale go to our News/Videos page.