I'm now in my 66th year as a Watercolor painter; however, what many don't know about me was that for 55 of those years I was also a Track & Field and Cross-Country coach. Several years ago, Greg, a father of one of my athletes, asked me if I was planning to do a painting of the historic Court House in Nevada City, California.
I said, "Yes, why do ask?"
Greg replied, "When you do, can you put me into the scene, depicting how I looked as a high school athlete back in the 1970s, while running down the hill from the Court House?" And then added, "Be sure to include other runners with me in the scene, but make sure I'm leading the pack, because as you remember, I always won the Court House Training Run!"
Greg was correct. He was a member of the Nevada Union High School cross-country team, and I was his coach back then, as well as an Art instructor at the school.
The Courthouse Run was one of the team's favorites. It was an 8-mile hilly, out-and-back workout that started at the high school in Grass Valley. After competing along country roads and then the historic streets in the gold mining town of Nevada City, racers had to run up the steep hill and the front steps of the court house. They were required to tag the entry door before beginning the return route to the school.
I'm glad Greg suggested that I do this painting. It brought back wonderful, fun, nostalgic memories for me, and I'm sure it will for him, also, when he views this painting for the first time.
Nevada City Courthouse Run
I'm now in my 66th year as a Watercolor painter; however, what many don't know about me was that for 55 of those years I was also a Track & Field and Cross-Country coach. Several years ago, Greg, a father of one of my athletes, asked me if I was planning to do a painting of the historic Court House in Nevada City, California.
I said, "Yes, why do ask?"
Greg replied, "When you do, can you put me into the scene, depicting how I looked as a high school athlete back in the 1970s, while running down the hill from the Court House?" And then added, "Be sure to include other runners with me in the scene, but make sure I'm leading the pack, because as you remember, I always won the Court House Training Run!"
Greg was correct. He was a member of the Nevada Union High School cross-country team, and I was his coach back then, as well as an Art instructor at the school.
The Courthouse Run was one of the team's favorites. It was an 8-mile hilly, out-and-back workout that started at the high school in Grass Valley. After competing along country roads and then the historic streets in the gold mining town of Nevada City, racers had to run up the steep hill and the front steps of the court house. They were required to tag the entry door before beginning the return route to the school.
I'm glad Greg suggested that I do this painting. It brought back wonderful, fun, nostalgic memories for me, and I'm sure it will for him, also, when he views this painting for the first time.