When it Rains...

As I write, I am surrounded by the soothing sounds of a beautiful summer rain on one of those perfect rainy Sunday afternoons that gives you an unspoken permission to take cuddle with a kitten, to curl up with a good book, to nap in a hammock (under the porch roof!), to call a friend, to bake cookies ... or perhaps, to blog!

This rainy afternoon reminds me of a very special guest who stayed at our B&B a few weeks ago. Peter and his wife arrived with plans to hike .... but down came the rains! So Peter proposed a very creative Plan B.

Peter is an artist, specializing in landscape and portraiture. Earlier, he had spotted our two daughters and his artist's eye admired their "beautiful bone structures." (I just knew those girls were beautiful!) He asked if the girls would mind sitting for portraits!

If you know my girls ... and many of you do ... you won't be surprised to hear that we had one very excited young lady and one who said, "NO WAY!" (I'll let you figure out who was who!)

Peter set up his easel on the front porch and while the rain dripped melodiously from the eaves (you can actually SEE the rain dripping from the eaves just above Sodie's head!), he began....

First, a sketch of Sodie's outline

I loved Peter's palette ... such a rich rainbow of colors that he mixed to create just the right hue.

Peter works very quickly ... usually finished with the first "draft" in about one hour.

Finishing touches

"Sodie.... meet Sodie!"

Now it was time for CorrieAnne to take her turn posing.

It was appropriate that Peter captured her wearing her very favorite red sweatshirt!

Getting there....

CorrieAnne checking out her likeness

The finished product!

You can see more of Peter's artwork on his blog