Some Cool Stuff

1. In the past two days Ben has painted with both nurses. He had a ball both times even though he ate accidentally ate paint on each occasion. Yesterday we heard him say "yellow." Today he said "orange." Of course he actually said a lot more than that; we just can't decipher it yet.

2. I had to take Jessie to her dance class yesterday afternoon. Before putting Ben in the van I had to awaken him from a nap he wasn't ready to abandon just yet. A few blocks from our house he began to cry. Without hesitation or suggestion Jessie crawled into the backseat, sat next to Ben, held his hand, and let him nod off on her shoulder. He didn't stir again until I took him out of his car seat when we got home. This is just one in a million things that makes our daughter so incredible.

I really can't stomach some parents going on and on about how brilliant their kid is. "My Jimmy makes perfect grades, plays the tuba, and has already been accepted into Harvard right out of K5." Yadda, yadda, yadda. With that said I will only say that "special kids" encourage very special siblings.

3. While I was gone last weekend, Ben and Nurse Lisa were watching a program about manatees on Animal Planet. It was basically about a group that rehabilitates injured sea cows back to health. In one segment a manatee had to be tube-fed. When Lisa turned to remind Ben that he's fed the same way he was already smiling and laughing. Just to check if it was coincidence she talked about it again later in the day. She got the same reaction.

4. Being a full-time professional artist I have to be very critical of my work. The natural tendency is always to beat oneself up and dwell on the aspects of paintings that basically suck. Most of us doing this don't have the ego to pat ourselves on the back when we accomplish something really nice. So like learning to pull my own teeth I've learned how to (for the most part) be more objective in reviewing my finished pieces.

I can honestly say that I am extremely proud of the latest painting which is pictured above. As always Blogger doesn't do art photos justice. Plus it's difficult to capture the essence of a 3 foot by 4 foot canvas in a 2 inch space. I knew this one was pretty darn good when Joan said, "Yeah, it's okay but it's not my cup of tea." I have to give Joan credit though. She's come a long way in understanding my style the past fourteen years. It's only those occasions when I push the envelope a bit that she reverts back to her love of realistic wildlife prints with a gold stamp on it.

5. If you need a good laugh today then visit Kimmy K.'s blog. Even if you don't need a good laugh go there anyway. She's actually linked to one of her blog buddies for the humor. Enjoy!!!!