It seems as if the holidays began in October.  I’m not the only one thinking this way;  others have expressed the same feeling.  This past Tuesday it felt strange not to be at the National Gallery of Art working on my copy of Vincent van Gogh’s “Roses.”  It was grandparents day at our granddaughter Caroline’s school, a yearly event we attend with joy and pride.  I’ll be back at the NGA next Tuesday and expect to be closer to completion of my copy.

This year I decided to create holiday ornaments depicting scenes of Frederick, Maryland.  Each ornament is hand painted in acrylic and shows a popular landmark around downtown.  The scenes are painted on glass ornaments from photographs I’ve taken and been collecting throughout the years.  Someone asked me to do a portrait of their home on an ornament so I thought painting Frederick scenes would be a fun project.  I’m going to try to paint a small facial portrait on one.  That will be a challenge!  Although, last year for a class assignment, our teacher asked us to paint a portrait the size of a quarter.  I didn’t think it was possible but I managed to pull it off. We’ll see what happens.

The Frederick ornaments may be seen in the gift shop of The Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center, 40 South Carroll St., Frederick, MD (301)698-0656.

I wish all of my friends, family and followers a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.