Painting

When our friend Leona Strickland Hudson died a couple of years ago, she left the bulk of her estate to charities, one being the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, and I was very pleased and flattered when commissioned to do a portrait of her. But after I got so sick last February, the director of the art center, Cheryl Oliver, my ex-husband Jack's beautiful wife, called me in Atlanta and graciously offered to let me off the hook. I declined because I loved Leona, and it was something I really wanted to do.

The dedication of the Dugald and Leona Hudson building is next Monday, and I actually finished the painting this past Sunday: quite a feat for the Queen of Procrastination!

There was already a portrait of her husband Dugald, painted about sixty years ago, when he was a young man in military attire. I wanted Leona to be about that same age in her portrait, as they are to be hung as a pair, so I chose this wedding picture of her, and just changed her outfit.

I haven't painted anything in quite a while, but I'm pleased with the result, and think Leona would be too.