The girl on the left is the one I told you about.  Her mom is on the right, our wonderful Venezuelan daughter.

It is a special honor to receive a first place award for Women in Art. I attended the reception yesterday afternoon and evening and was happy to explain a lot about my work to the students there.  It is good to know that many young art students have an appreciation for some degree of realism.  I found an interview on you tube with Nelson Shanks, one of the top portrait painters of our time.  His views on the subject are inspirational to me.  Look it up under his name and choose the video where he is sitting on a bench outdoors by a small lake. His out look is quite worthwhile.

I have two more events this year and then I hope to settle in to a long winter of serious painting.