Indulge me - this is a little past due, but when the following event occurred this website didn't exist, at least in its' present form, and I certainly wasn't into blogging!

   On December 2, 2008, my wife Jo and I attended a reception at the White House as guests of Mrs. Laura Bush, where I was honored to be one of the many artists in attendance from around the country who were selected by a member of Congress to hand paint an ornament for the White House Christmas Tree! It was an honor to have been selected, in my case by Senator Richard Burr, R-NC, to represent our state as the theme, with the motif colors of red, white, and blue. 

   My ornament is titled "From the Mountains to the Sea" and now is in the Permanent Collection of the Smithsonian! What an honor it was - is - for this artist to be recognized in this way. It was the first time that individual artists were chosen to decorate the tree, and it was a remarkable, wonderful decision by Mrs. Bush to make it happen. In a way, it really recognizes all visual artists.The ornaments were delivered in August; they were simple spheres about 9" in diameter. I use an impressionist style, acrylic paints and a clear coating to decorate the ornament.