Inspired by South Africa

I was told, more than once, that I would come back from my trip to S. Africa inspired with new ideas, new motivations to create, and that it would be life changing. Turns out, everyone that told me this was right. But what I did not anticipate was the unexpected beauty in the most unpredictable places. The contrast was incredible! Since I cannot ignore what has happened to the inside of me it is going to have to come out in several different ways and the first will be this painting. I am certain that it will be the first in a series from my trip and I am excited to share it with you - in stages.

As we neared the end of our stay, we were privileged to be invited to a private birthday party. The guests of honor, twins, were treated with the fanfare of an American wedding reception. The white tent, white covered chairs, the music, the dinner, the large pink and white birthday cakes - one for each, all made quite an impression. I was not expecting this.

After we enjoyed the honor of having dinner in the tent, guests waited for the arrival of the birthday girls. It was so hot and I began to feel physically drained. So, instead of standing, I decided to retreat to our van with a few others in our group. The van door was open and as we visited, a car pulled up and I immediately thought of a line from the movie Tombstone, when a beautiful woman stepped down from her stagecoach and  Doc Holiday (played by Val Kilmer) notices her beauty and says, "Well, an enchanted moment". Only in this case, it was several beautiful women. I immediately took advantage of the camera I held in my hands and started photographing this enchanted moment. Most of the time they had their backs to me as they prepared themselves to make an entrance at the party. But in this moment I captured the reference photo for this.

As the painting progresses I will update you.