My First Marathon was Great, and now Over!

It was a beautiful day, I was very nervous when the starting gun went off, but crossing the finish line 6 hours, 14 minutes, and 7 seconds later was an amazing feeling. The Marine Corps clearly knows a thing or two about running a large scale race and the location, Washington, D.C. provided a phenomenal backdrop. My favorite sign along the route was held by a spectator at mile 17 that read: "The reason your feet hurt is because you're kicking ass!" Kicking ass indeed...but time to get back to painting, and posting to my blog once again.

Nude and Stripes

Corner Market

This is on Tremont Street, not sure if it is Roxbury or South End...

Seaside Corvette 24"x20"

John's, P-Town

I wanted to take a workshop a couple of summers ago with Charles Sovek whose paintings I admire but unfortunately, I was on a lengthy waiting list and did not get into this popular class. I booked a room anyway in the event that a place in the workshop opened up (or I could find out where they were and I could kind of paint nearby) but because it didn't, I painted anyway, and in this case, John's, a restaurant on the pier (wharf?) was the subject. I was sorry to learn that Mr. Sovek passed away recently, but he leaves behind a legacy of beautiful paintings. I purchased his book, "Catching Light in Your Paintings" which is a nice way to view his work and read about his thoughts on technique.

Calle Typica, San Miguel

The first painting I ever did in Mexico. San Miguel de Allende is truly a visual feast and the people were very tolerant of us setting up our easels on the streets. One woman approached Kelley and I one day to see if she could sit for us. (for a fee of course) She did not speak English, I did not speak Spanish, and I was a little skeptical, however, she did sit for us. When Ros joined us, she knew who she was because she offered to sit for her too in the past! Turns out, she appears in the Parroquia scene of "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" as an extra! I no longer have that painting...I'll have to catch her again on my next trip.

Miss Molly

Kelley's daughter Molly sat for us a few years ago. She was in high school then, I wonder what she thinks of it now?