Beauty

White Shirt and Tie   watercolor   8.5 x 6.5

I am surrounded by beautiful faces! ....faces that emit energy, kindness, courage and honesty. Nothing makes me sadder than a person who doesn't recognize his/her own beauty. We are conditioned to find fault, I guess. I know for a fact that my own notion of beauty is quite broad, I guess in my attempt to counter the beauty-definition of the media. Robert Plummer is such a person of beauty. He posed for our group many years ago in his white shirt and tie, the mark of respect from his own generation. Years later, when he and his wife bought the painting, I had the opportunity to visit his magnificent gardens.......a quality hidden beneath the white shirt. Now, when I look at the portrait of Robert, I smile.............I see dignity, a love of nature and a drive.............all are gifts to me, and, I hope, to him.