Title: Marjorie and Meril

One of the blessings of painting at Olde Towne Art with about 20 other talented artists is that we often teach classes, and have the opportunity to learn from one another! Adele Loomans taught a portrait class which I took, and I learned so much from her. This painting is of my parents, who have both passed away, and I did it during that class. I had chosen a sepia picture of an ancient Native American, and on the morning of the first class it suddenly dawned on me that I needed a color photo! I scrambled to find someone I really wanted to paint, and came up with a shot of my parents ... well, I was the only one in the class painting, not one, but two portraits! I quickly realized I'd lost my mind. Her method was entirely different from what I was used to, and even doing one portrait would have been arduous.

It was challenging on so many levels, including the emotional, as I teared up several times thinking of how much I missed them.... and it's kind of hard to see through tears. But I think if you look at Sojourner, which I painted almost immediately after the last lesson, you will see how much Adele's teaching blessed me and stretched my talent in new ways.

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