Here I am in my baglady dress because I was painting today, but luckily only two people have seen me. My friend Kim, who has seen my at my most unglamourus as I emerged from a pool, and the flower delivery guy, who looked very nervous when I asked him to come in and put the flowers in my dining room. I don't know what he thought I had up my sleeve! Anyway, this is the piece I worked on first today, and I have many more coats of paint to add, but it looks like metal and just begs to be touched.

Then I started on Maryann, a little girl whose picture I took in Jamestown when Felicia was here to visit me. I liked the look of her big colonial hat, so I asked her parents if I could take her picture to use in a painting. She looks happy about it, doesn't she? This is a leap for me because I am confident about my drawing ability, but not my painting ability. And especially faces, my favorites. So I've been very wary about using paint to do a portrait. It is so familiar to me to layer pencils, but the acrylics are unforgiving and dry right away. They are almost impossible to blend, but I'm figuring it out. As I was painting I remembered what Beverly Phillips, a wonderful portrait painter, had said to me about my painting of Nia. After a few hours in her class, I was really sweating it while I tried to get Nia's face right. But then Bev told me some people practice for years to paint the way I had done on this piece. I'll never forget that!

This is Nia, on the left.

Well, the flower guy I mentioned brought a huge basked of hydrangeas to plant in my new backyard. My friend Patti sent them. She is so thoughtful! The flowers are just beautiful and I know I'll have to paint them soon, either when they are in my living room or in their new place outside.