Friends of Nathan Keller are both saddened and excited by the sudden loss of the artist after a tragic accident early this week which led to his death and, simultaneously, his paintings holding any value to anyone. Keller struggled for years to make a living as an artist, but in an over saturated market for such luxury items, he was never able to do much more beyond a few local sales. Now that he is deceased, however, he can enjoy a much higher degree of fame as his paintings are now limited in quantity and there is no hope that he will ever improve upon any of them. His friends, through tears of sorrow, expressed relief that he died in such a tragic way and at the young age of 42 so that his life's work will have some hope of being remembered after years of rejection and self-doubt. His parents recall how Keller's one hope was that he could wallow in poverty and obscurity as a sort of martyr for his passion, only to finally be appreciated after he could have personally reaped any benefit. They assure those who loved Keller that he would be glad to see them exploiting the tragic circumstances of his life and death as far as they could, as this is every artist's ultimate fantasy. In lieu of a funeral, an auction of a few select Keller paintings will be held at the Updike Auction Hall on Friday at 11:00 a.m. Depending on the response, others will be held in the future for his earlier sketches, because it's what he would have wanted.