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I am writing this to all of you, and also particularly to you on the evening before Thanksgiving.

I'll keep this as brief as possible as I express my gratitude from my heart. I am so grateful this and every year to have the joy of being able to express myself artistically and more so with each and every passing year to have the opportunity to share that art with more and more people.

Whether you admired it on the website, saw me painting on a street or in a field, viewed it in a show, saw it on facebook, have purchased a piece or two or three or won one in a giveaway from the facebook "like" milestones or simply saw a piece somewhere and it made you smile... I am indeed honored that you enjoyed an expression of my spirit.

I want to acknowledge that I am thankful for my life and my journey. It has not always been easy and sometimes it has challenged me to my very core to go on. I believe in keeping focused on the dream and putting the negative in perspective. What may seem like a really tough time may actually be bringing me closer to my goals.

One of my most important goals is to uplift others through my art. To enrich lives from minute ways as well as deeply profound ways. A simple "like" on a social media page or an unknown shared moment of light and color are ways in which it manifests. Those that are on this email list are truly part of a life well lived.

I want to extend to you, your family, friends and neighbors a profoundly sincere, "thank you". I want to thank those that may or may not know personally how they impact my life: my closest and most distant family members; from the grocery clerks and produce stockers, the appy counter folks, the military both active and veterans, those that keep he water flowing from my faucet, the lights on and the heat burning; The art gallery owners and workers, the board members of the organizations I belong to, those that work at the venues, the art store employees, many of which, have become friends; those that attend the receptions and the talks; the art lovers, art admirers and the art collectors; the framers that have cut me some slack as work my way up and those that have helped to 'dress' a project in pinch; the coworkers and collaborators, the teachers that have taught me, the students I have taught and learned so much from on the way; the friends that have encouraged me in what I create, and just being me; my family for being who they are and there in spirit when they cannot be there in person; my fellow artists for being a constant source of inspiration and providing a sense of belonging... I am grateful.

The challenges of being an artist can sometimes be so much greater than what the public sees. What shows on the surface, even from those artists that seem to create great works on an ongoing basis, is merely a fraction of what flows underneath,I toast my fellow artists and i toast their supporters.

Often it is our faith, in one form or another that sustains us. Sometimes it can be difficult to see over the next hill and find a reason and a way to carry on and create even more art.

I am thankful that I have the opportunity to be a part of your life in whatever small or large part I play. Thanksgiving morning I will go out and paint...and as i sleep tonight I will rejoice in the freedom I have, to create that art and to share it with others. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.