My how time flies!

      I just had occasion to go back through my blog archives and I realize how valuable a permanent record of my retired life is!  It was great to revisit our trip to Europe in 2010 as well as the many other excursions we have been blessed to take.
      Recently, I have fallen into the "trap" of posting my work on Facebook.  Its easy and the "instant gratification" is incredible.  But I have no record of these posts, except to find them occasionally show up on my Facebook feed among all the other activities we do.
      The reason I set up this blog, was to record my artistic and travel journeys, that I might be able to show growth as an artist and a lifelong student of art.  I didn't realize how much fun it was to look back at these experiences 5 years later!
       I am going to try to "begin again" with my activities starting in 2016. This year, like many in the past, has provided us with opportunities to travel to South Padre Island, and to take a "bucket list cruise"  through the Panama Canal, where I, once again, taught watercolor classes onboard.
      We were blessed to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary and our trip to Door County this summer was a big part of the celebration.
       This year has also been a year of commissions.  I was asked to paint some scenes from our resort in Door County for my niece as special gifts, and I was also commissioned to paint a statue of the Holy Family as a going away gift for a special nun in our parish.
       I participated in the Stem's Plein Air event in Overland Park this Spring and also took a workshop with a friend from college during the Door County Plein Air Festival. I will post a few pics from each of these events, and vow to keep up with this project in the future, if not for the enjoyment of my subscribers, at least for the record! I'll begin with the commissions.

This statue is in the sanctuary of our Nativity Parish.  It is the "Holy Family", the namesake of our parish.  Our pastor asked me to paint his statue as a parting gift for Sister Kathleen, who had spent several years in our parish and was returning to her convent.  No pressure here! 

This is Tiger Lily cottage and Bailey. My niece just purchased this cottage and her sister asked me to paint her dog and the cottage.  The only way I could do justice to both was to do a "near and far" composition from our pier.

My niece and her husband purchased the 100+  cabin our our property and she asked me to paint her family on the porch for her husband's 50th Birthday gift.  It was an honor to paint such special place for him.