After I finished the portrait of my mother as a glamorous 19 year old, she told me I had to paint her husband too. After all, he had been a gorgeous young man. Yesterday I showed him this painting and he gave me a big smile and said he really liked it. That’s job satisfaction!

I count myself lucky to have friends such as Renin. When she asked for a portrait it was very hard to say no.

Most of us had idealized ideas about our parents as children; my father was the strongest man in the world, my mother was the most beautiful lady. I had forgotten just how beautiful she was until I came upon this old photo. She’s wearing amazing shoes in the photo and a classy navy blue dress, but what really struck me was her face. She really is a beautiful lady, she was alluring and lovely; like a movie star. I remember the reactions of men around her when I was just a little kid, and now I can see why. Happy birthday Wishes to my lovely mother!

Once a year Gage Academy puts on a drawing jam. Anyone who wants to participate needs to show up with drawing supplies and there are models. This time I drew an actress and a real Arabian prince..

One a vacation in Sacramento, California I was struck by the beauty of these tiny plants. Cathy, this one’s for you. Send me your mailing address so I can send it to you.

This is painted on a 1/4 sheet of a sheet of yellow colored handmade watercolor paper. Taken from an old family photograph, this image evokes the life of a police officer stationed on graveyard duty. He comes home and tries to relax with the Sunday comics, before the day has dawned.

As I rushed around, doing my chores today, I could not ignore the glorious colors evident everywhere I turned. This is a scene painted from right outside my front door.

When Lucia Melino was 10 years old she and her mother and sister and brother landed on Ellis Island after a long journey from her ancestral home (a little town called Sant’Agata di Puglia ) to the United States of America. We are very fortunate that some photos were taken that show her, a pioneer in her family. It was she that learned to speak English first, she who started working before she was a teen, and she who coached her father through his American Citizenship Examinations.