A Childhood Friend...

 I GREW UP IN AUGUSTA, GEORGIA and went to school with a gentleman named Curtis. I'd say that all of us have lost touch with most of the people we grew up with, particularly with people from elementary and middle school. I was in middle school with Curtis, and after the 8th grade, he went to a different school, and we lost touch completely. In 2014, I was working for Paint Nite and he happened to walk into Bertucci's (a now closed Italian restaurant in Richmond) with his wife, Nicole. He'd been living in Richmond for all these years. Again, we lost contact. 

Nine years later I ran into him while picking up some groceries. We chatted for probably 2 hours, exchanged numbers and have stayed in contact ever since. His daughter was getting married (unfortunately I was already booked for a live wedding painting) but I had the unique opportunity to draw their wedding day.

Imagine that...drawing the portrait of a childhood friend's daughter and her husband. 

Danielle and Matthew

 I NEVER GOT A CHANCE to share this but this is by far one of my favorite live wedding paintings. It was at the Boathouse in Richmond of a former employee of mine, Danielle. She and her husband, Matthew were getting married and wanted something simple, that included their favorite family members. This was late 2023 and the leaves were just simply gorgeous. This has everything I love about a live wedding painting - the dip kiss, tattoos (I LOVE painting them), the city (in this case, Richmond, but a city nonetheless) fall, and a river. I couldn't ask for a happier bride. 

Recent trip to Washington Part 8 of 8

 

THIS WILL BE MY LAST post about Washington. Lynanne and I have done quite a bit of traveling and for the most part, I don't really post about it on social media; we learned the hard way about doing that lol. With the exception of my personal Instagram, all of my social media is about promoting my art. 

Probably one of the most insane, crazy, wild, beautiful, stunning, etc., places we saw was the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic. It's along the Hoh River (the Hoh are an indigenous tribe that refers to themselves as the chalat') and holy ball sac, Batman, however green you think these photos are, is nothing compared to how green it actually is. 

Because most of the groundcover is a thick layer of moss, when trees drop their seedlings, they can't really penetrate the soil. So as the tree grows, it doesn't take solid root, and from time to time, a completely healthy tree will fall over. It takes about a year for the bark to fall off and in that timeframe, if the seedlings from a Sitka Tree land on the fallen tree, a small percentage of them will begin to take root. The tree that fell is referred to as a nurse log, and in its death, it aids the growth of new life. In some cases (as you can see in one of the photos) some trees will grow in a straight line because of the decaying nurse log. Within another 2-4 years, the nurse log will be almost nonexistent, and some of the roots of the Sitka Trees will be several feet out of the ground. 

It's certainly a sight to see, and it's inspired a lot of new art from me. I'm not saying we'll be moving to Washington, but I'm not "not" saying that, either. We'll definitely be visiting again. 

Now...back to sharing art with you.

Recent trip to Washington Part 7 of 8

LAKE CRESCENT...IT IS BY far, a location you have to actually see to truly get an understanding of how magnificent it is. It's a glacial lake in Mount Olympic and it's both warm and deceptively cold. After 2pm they don't rent kayaks because the winds on the lake have a propensity to knock kayakers over and the water stays (what we were told) approximately 44 degrees year-round. We were told, "if you are knocked out of your kayak in the middle of the lake, your chances of making it to the shore are slim."
 

Recent trip to Washington Part 6 of 8

 WE SAW THE TREE OF LIFE, spent some time on Ruby Beach (I'd love to just set up an easel and paint for a whole ass week here), and stopped in Forks, Washington, where the Twilight films are set. Supposedly, most of the film was not shot in Forks, but one of the residents told us the trucks are from the film, and some of the key scenes in the town were. I don't know if these are the trucks, but here's a photo nonetheless. 

Recent trip to Washington Part 5 of 8

 SUPPOSEDLY, WASHINGTON IS RAINY AND foggy most of the year. I spent about 3 months in Ketchikan and there was probably a solid 2 months where it rained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so I have no reason to doubt this. For the duration of our trip, it was sunny every day except for a solid eight-hour stretch. I personally do not mind the fog. There's something ethereal and almost eerie about it that I absolutely love. Imagine an old shed out in the woods or on the side of the road. Nobody wants to live in it, but there's something beautiful about it. That's how I kind of feel about the fog. 

Recent trip to Washington Part 4 of 8

THERE WAS A BRIEF MOMENT in Leavenworth where we began to wonder if we wanted to stay in Virginia. It's a whole ass Bavarian Christmas town that has a 3 month art festival...yeah...that shit's right up my alley. It's insanely clean, and the people were super friendly. We hiked up maybe 1/4 of Mt. Ranier and while you're not supposed to feed the chipmunks, it's so difficult to turn them down. Did we feed them? I'm not saying we did, but I'm not not saying it, either.