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Something special and quite tender happens when a little boy becomes a young man. As their grandmother and mother, I wanted to capture this in-between stage. Above is my grandson, Stanley, at 12, and below is my son, Ben, at 11(painted in 1991). Stanley didn't really want me to paint his portrait, so I figured he would not be amenable to sitting, which is fine. Today, with an iPad, I can see colors far better than I used to with printed photos. Stanley's painting was just finished using the Indirect painting technique, while I painted Ben using the Direct, or wet-on-wet, technique. Luckily, Ben did pose for me, but though different, I like both paintings. Yes, that is real gold leaf on Ben's portrait. I wanted him to know he was precious.

I don't know about you, but with all this stress over the midterm elections, I just need to get outside and PLAY! So, after voting on Tuesday, I flew to Northern California to play with my Grands! Soccer Tournaments, Sailing Regattas, Track Meets; the only thing I am missing is Baseball. My four Grandchildren are all jocks, so it's nonstop sports this week, which is wonderful! However, the kids aren't the only ones who know how to play. My son, Ben, says the best way he knows to wind down is a day at the beach, flying a Kite! Maybe, after YOU VOTE, we need to tell all the candidates..."Oh, Go Fly A Kite!"