Smitty's Golden Fish

Back in March, I had the chance to visit some people that I have grown to love, in a city that I miss...Rome, Georgia.  There is an older gentleman that lives there who is "one in a million."  I'm not sure I've met anyone as humble, as positive, and as optimistic as he is.  He never speaks ill others, and is the quiet champion of those who need a helpful hand, a friend, or a warm embrace.  His name is James, but everyone knows him as SMITTY.  Sadly, I heard recently that his son, who was instrumental in watching over Smitty, passed away.
There are a lot of great people in the world, and then there are the gems, the people that are just golden, through and through.  I've found that there is a pattern with these amazing people...they become who they are because of the way that they choose to handle very difficult circumstances.  They let the hard times spur them to eagerly seek out those who are downtrodden and they quietly, yet sensitively tend to their needs.

I consider Smitty to be one of the GOLDEN ones. This week's letter and envelope go out to him. I painted a "Golden" fish on his envelope, to let him know that I see him as brilliant and amazing.
Here's how it came out.

Here's a picture of Smitty and I during our last visit.  This is what it feels like to be in the presence of true goodness.

New Week, New Envelopes

I skipped a week in doing any type of artwork, and I have missed posting.  This weekend, however, I "caught up" on my goal of doing an envelope and a friendly letter to somebody weekly.  Both of the doodles this week go to people at work.

A couple of days ago, I witnessed the very sad occasion of a co-worker being informed that her father had just passed away, and that he was in a different country.  She is relatively young still, and I was heart broken to see her sadness.  I chose to include in her condolence letter the same poem that I sent to a previous recipient, about the ship and how it relates to dying.  Consequently, I felt it was appropriate to do a little painting of an old fashioned clipper, a sea ship.  This was done in gouache and I enjoyed playing with the blues and yellows.  Here is how it came out:

The second envelope that I completed this week was also for a co-worker.  This gentleman has been working at the location that I manager for over 40 years.  I think it was difficult for him to make the decision to move to the next chapter of his life, as I'm sure it is with anyone who has really dedicated him or herself to an industry for such a long time.  I chose to sketch a picture of a bird, ready to fly off to a higher perch, since I'm secretly a little jealous that he is at a point that he can step away from it, to find freedom with his family in this new part of his life.  I've still got a number of years before being able to reach such a stage, but I'm hoping to keep my wings ready for flight, for when the opportunity presents itself...

This also was done in gouache: