"The Court Runner" 

It has been about 3 years since I updated this blog. So much has happened and I am pleased to be back. I had two right elbow surgeries and a fire that jumped to our home from a lightning strike that destroyed the house next door. Thank God, no one was home next door. This was May 19th, a year ago tomorrow. Our home was damaged but not seriously. But we did have to live for the entire summer outside of it while it was restored. We are truly blessed to have escaped just in time and to have had the firemen arrive in time to save it! We have a neighbor's son, Tyler Dillon, to thank for being up late that night and seeing the fire and calling 911 right away! 

There have only been a few major paintings that I have completed since my last post in 2014. This one of "The Court Runner" is presently hanging in the 47th LWS International Exhibit, https://louisianawatercolorsociety.org. In the Fall Member LWS Exhibit in 2015, it was awarded Best of Show. 

The story of the subject of this painting is very interesting, I think. I met Maxwell Smart, yes, the same name as the famous character portrayed by Don Adams in the show, "Get Smart" (1965-1970).  Max was sitting just as you see him in the painting outside of St. John's Coffee Shop in Covington, LA. He is a court runner for the St. Tammany Court System. He runs papers for lawyers to and from the Courthouse in Covington. 

It was a cold day and He was reading a novel and waiting for his call. He told me that he usually had his dog with him but did not have him this day. I would have loved to capture that picture with his dog. He is a character and I met him again at the Fall Member show in 2015.