My art instructor, Robert Armetta, won second place in the Portrait Society's annual competition. We're all very excited for him. His portrait was one of 1,300 submissions and he had very stiff competition. Robert is not only a phenomenal artist, but a truly gifted teacher and a warm and compassionate human being with a great sense of humor. He's also very humble. Last Saturday when he told us he wouldn't be there for art class, he didn't tell us why -- only that it was because of something unavoidable and he apologized. It wasn't until yesterday that we finally learned the real reason; he had to go to Washington to accept his award from the Portrait Society. It's about time he finally got some recognition for his hard work and great talent.

The portrait that snagged him the award is of a model we once drew in our figure class - a rather homely looking guy who, I hear, is now homeless. He's wearing a pair of blue pants but is shirtless. It's a great character study (check it out at www.robertarmetta.com under gallery/portraits). For me, the art of portraiture is about capturing the personality of the subject. Right now I'm struggling to learn how to paint flesh tones. I've drawn people for years but learning how to paint them is going to take a while. Once I've accomplished that, then I can worry about capturing my subject's personality.

While I'm here posting, Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers and mothers to be. Once a mom, always a mom - even once they're out on their own. Today my two sons are away. Derek is on the Appalachian Trail somewhere in Virginia and Sean is up at SUNY Oswego getting ready for his finals. Doesn't seem so long ago that they were tiny pink bundles I brought home from the hospital. I miss them terribly but, at the same time, I'm happy to watch them making their way in the world. Creating a well adjusted, independent adult is, after all, one of the goals of motherhood.