Good things come in little paintings?

For the past 20 or so years I've been painting big, really big, the bigger the better I always said. But, this weekend some very dear friends are getting married and because they are an older couple, they pretty much have everything, so I thought a painting would be the best gift, and they love Europe. Unfortunately I waited too long and the wedding is this weekend, so, here is my first attempt at a really little painting (I didn't measure it but it's something like 6" square) I had to search my studio for brushes that small but I have to say, I'm kind of liking the little painting.

more beach

Our family had a trip to the beach planned this summer, I wanted to do some more "kids on the beach" painting, but because of all of the other travel, we all just wanted to stay here and enjoy the rest of the summer in Montana. So, I've painted a new one in homage to the trip that never was.

Oh what a summer

Summer has completely gotten away from me. It started when school got out and I was all excited to have lots of time to paint while my daughter was in camp and also to enjoy the Missoula weather with her when she was home. However, one week in she somehow caught pneumonia, which kept both of us inside for 3 weeks. Although I didn't do much painting during that time I did get the inspiration for a painting of her when she was in one of her 15 hour sleeps, I've been wanting to try a portrait for awhile - I call it "sleeping beauty".

To add to the drama of this particular summer, just as Faith was starting to recover I got a call from my mom that my dad was in the ICU and ironically had pneumonia (a bit more serious than Faith's). I ended up spending a week in Phoenix with her and he never left the ICU or was fully awake while I was there. Unfortunately he didn't make it, and a week later I was on my way back to help my mom get the paperwork and the memorial sorted out.

Going through photos and paperwork, I found out so much that I never knew about him and his family. He was a Pearl Harbor Survivor (I knew that) but after the attack when he was stationed in the South Pacific, his plane with 6 other guys was shot down - 2 didn't survive and the others swam to the shore of a little obscure island and were taken care of by the natives, only the chief's son spoke english and they eventually were rescued by the navy. He was basically raised by a step mom and a step dad, his real dad left his mom when he was 3 and his biological mom died of tuberculosis when he was 12. And, I found a picture of him on a sailboat that he built, other than a dollhouse for me when I was little, I don't remember him ever building anything. The other photo is of him in Greece with his taxi driver, he made friends wherever he went, I love that photo!