Zaplatar
I have a painting by an artist named “R. Zaplatar”.  The painting has
the following name:  “Austin, TX  2-5-82 Congress Street Looking
North”.  It is approximately 3.0 feet by 3.5 feet.  I bought the
painting from the artist approximately 20 years ago – he was young at
the time. If I search Google for Zaplatar I find seven references for
his name – none that I can make any sense of.  My questions are:
1) Is he alive?
2) Is he still painting?
3) If he is – how can he be reached?
4) Is the painting worth anything at this time?

With an unusual last name, it was not difficult to track Mr. Zaplatar
especially as you mentioned meeting him in Austin.

He is alive and his address/phone should allow you to reach him
quickly for reminiscences about his artistic career.

Raymond Zaplatar
2005 Griswold Ln
Austin, TX 78703-3007
(512)479-6063 
http://www.switchboard.com/

Alas, a check at the Worldwide Art Resources center indicates that Mr.
Zaplatar is not a renowned artist on this planet, but you have enjoyed
the product of his talent all these years and I imagine he would be
thrilled to hear that his artistic efforts continue to be appreciated.
http://wwar.com/categories/Artists/

Brad-ga

Thank you very much for your assistance. I have contacted Mr.
Zaplatar. He is no longer painting professionally but has recently
entertained the idea of reentering the painting profession.

I can't find any useful data about this artwork, but there are many
online sites which can assist you in locating a person.

Yahoo offers a good, free source of information:

http://people.yahoo.com/

All you have to know is a last name, and the state in which the person
lives (in this case, Texas seems a good place to start.)

If the initial "telephone search" turns up a likely first name, you
can then use the email search and the USSearch.com database search in
the lower section of the same page. The USSearch.com database often
provides a middle name and an age, as part of its free search. Further
details can be sought for an additional fee.