"Liquid Sunshine"

When I visited with family up in Washington this winter, I took many photos. One of my favorites was of this serene Buddha statue holding a bright orange gerbera daisy in front of my sister's house in Gig Harbor. It had rained a little in the morning and the sky was just beginning to clear. Tiny water droplets clung to the statue and the flower. It was so beautiful and calming and I loved the way colors worked together. There were little puddles in the crevices reflecting the blue sky above. It looked so pure and fresh to me. "Liquid Sunshine" is how people in the Pacific Northwest choose to describe the abundant amount of rain they get each year. Miraculously, it did not rain again for the rest of my time there.

Once I got back to Colorado, I was itching to take on the challenge of painting this complicated scene. These things can't be rushed, so I spent quite a long time working on this to get it to look as realistic as possible. I was very happy with how it turned out, so I entered it in the Louisville Art Association Spring Members Show, which was over the past weekend. On the night of the reception, it was awarded Best of Show by the show's judge, Victoria Kwasinski, a very well established abstract artist from Colorado. She had so many wonderful things to say about my painting, including that she felt like she could touch the water droplets and get her hand wet. I was moved to tears by her appreciation and quite honored to get a Best of Show again.

The next day, my friend, Lisa decided she had to have this painting to add to her collection. I'm so happy this piece is going to a friend's home where I can see it from time to time. Thank you, Lisa, for supporting my passion for creating art. And thank you to my sister, Cynthia, for creating new inspiration from simple beauty.