"Painting with Imagination" To imagine is every thing. Well, not quite but almost. Last night my daughter called me from her car, driving west out of Chicago. She was eager to share with me the beauty of a sunset she was witnessing as she drove. "Mom, I am viewing a peachy sky threaded with lavender ribbons The fluffy strung clouds are tinged in pearl gray, the color of a dove's wing. It is so beautiful. I wish you could see it."

A little imagination made it very easy to view in my mind what she was seeing with her eyes. Both are miraculous!

People ask me, "How do you imagine such things?"

Let me say a word about French: Attitude. A month or so ago I feverishly created six French: Attitude paintings...simple in construction, but full of color, line and emotion. Now where did that come from?

Early in January we were watching La Vie en Rose, a beautiful French art movie that re-tells the life of Edith Piaf, the famous French singer from the 30's - 40's. Edith a slight and wizened figure, with wild black hair, deeply etched, soulful eyes and emotionally evocative voice absolutely caught my imagination on fire! I watched the movie three times. After the third viewing I went straight to some small art boards previously painted black. They had been in my studio waiting for my "imagination" to take hold.

In a matter of a few hours, faces with soulful eyes burst forth. I played with charcoal, thick water-soluable pencil, India ink, acrylic and oil paint. Whatever would make a definitive mark, create a mood was put down. And as quickly as it had started it ended and there sat these six faces brimming with life. To name them took another stretch of imagination. Why not give them an attitude? And so it went.

Paint what comes to you now. Even more will come later. The sunset will flow through you.