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's motd June 30, 2010

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PAINTINGS

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

I was so lucky to grow up in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Growing up there, my father introduced me to art at a very early age. One of the most famous parts of the Quarter is a section called Square. I'm sure you've seen it on television or in the movies.

The Square was always filled with tourists and lots of artists. (It's still true today.) Many of those artists can do a pastel portrait of you while you sit for them. And then there are the painters. They do local scenes from the French Quarter of, say St. Louis Cathedral or maybe they''ll have painted a scene from the many goings-on at the nearby French Market. My father would take me so I could watch as the artists created their works of beauty on a piece of fabric.

There were also lots of art galleries in the French Quarter. On Sundays after church, my parents often took my brother, Lenny and I to visit one of the galleries. My father was very knowledgeable about many of the paintings we saw. As we admired a particular painting, he would explain to me the techniques the artist had used. I remember when my father bought me my first canvas and set of oil paints. I sat there looking at the blank white canvas for what seemed like hours. When he saw me struggling to create my first work of art, my dad had an idea.

He went outside and cut some white Camellia that had just bloomed. He brought them into the house then placed them in a vase on the table in front of me. He then built a little still-life scene around the flowers. He placed an apple, a couple of oranges and more fruit near the flowers. He then took a beautiful old scarf of my mother's and wrapped it around the lower part of the vase. "Now, Dicky," he said to me, "I want you to paint this scene."And with that, I went to work. First, I made a pencil sketch of the scene onto my canvas. Then I squeezed different colors of paint onto the pallet and began painting the scene. I was at it for nearly half the day. And you know what? For my first attempt at being an artist, I think I did pretty good. My father was impressed!

From then on, I only got more interested in art. Soon, I knew I wanted to do something artistic in my life. I had the opportunity to travel all over Europe many years ago and during my travels, I got to visit lots of famous art galleries. I got to stand in front of world-famous works of art by such masters as Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet and even Michelangelo. As I admired their masterpieces, I could actually see their brush strokes on the canvases.Throughout my life, I've enjoyed painting. I just love expressing my thoughts through the brush strokes I paint on the canvas. And you know what I've always wanted to do? I've wanted to paint a certain picture. I'm talking about the picture that will best represent my life. But let me ask, if you painted a picture of your own life...what would it look like? What would the scene be? Would it be a painting of blue skies with a big radiant sun? Would it include majestic mountains, dotted with beautiful trees, flowers and a cascading waterfall? Or would your painting be of a dark, cloudy sky, a scary-looking forest and bolts of lightening striking the ground? I mean, would the painting of your life remind you of a scene from some movie set in Translyvania?

Look, everything you do in life becomes a stroke on the canvas that is your life. All of the decisions you make, strung together, will be reflected in the finished painting of your life. I want you to remember something. When you're doing positive things for yourself, you'll paint happy, blue skies. But when you do negative things for yourself, well, get ready for those gray skies and the rain. Now please, I want your life to be a painting of the Mona and not one of...The Scream!Love,

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