Art in the Park was a real challenge for us this Saturday as we learned to set up our new equipment. We got an early start just in case we had any trouble. We had practiced with all the parts in our living room, bagged them and labeled. We thought we knew what we were doing, and thought it might be easy and we'd have time to walk to Starbucks for a special coffee. Well, all those thoughts went out the window in the first few minutes as the piles got mixed. Three hours of agony later we were finally set up. It was a whole different game out in the field, and once we made one mistake it just multiplied. We had to leave behind our preconceived notions about how we thought it went and all the past programing from our old equipment and follow the instructions step by step, starting over several times. We got laughing as we finally finished and said that we must be grown up at last because we did it without screaming or swearing at each other! Many, many thanks to those of you who came by to offer moral support, suggestions and help. I do love the new look and will take a picture for you next time!

Congratulations to Sanborn collector Hovey, who added "Summer's Passing" to her collection, and to the lucky retiree who will receive the Keith's mini-painting purchase! Thanks!

The old Art League of Marco Island has a new name, the Marco Island Center for the Arts. I'm not sure why that's necessary after all these years, or why they've chosen a name with an acronym exactly like another established Marco group, the Marco Island Civic Association, The focus of the "center" is no longer on visual artists, but on all the arts. Too bad. A good art league is a real asset to any community.

I finally finished a larger painting in time for the show last Saturday. It's cheerful, and the sky comes from one morning last week. Hope you like it.