Hi Subscriber,

I hope you're off to a fantastic day!

I've been keeping something under my hat since last December. I haven't said anything about it until now because I wasn't sure if it would really happen.

But after a trip to Cheyenne a week and a half ago, it looks like it IS happening! And now I can tell you about it.

I'm SO EXCITED about this!!

I'll be spending one or two days a month painting in Cheyenne this summer and fall. Wherever there's a bronze statue from the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project you'll find me painting.

Harvey Deselms has been heading up this; the Capitol Avenue Bronze Project. He's the originator of the idea, which is placing bronze statues along Capitol Avenue in Cheyenne.

Since the initiation of the project it has expanded to include seventy-three statues in more places than the original Capitol Ave. There are plans for more to come in the future also.

Each bronze depicts an aspect of Wyoming life or history. Last December I got the idea that it would be so cool to make paintings of the bronzes in their places and asked Harvey what he thought of it.

I made a trip to Cheyenne on the sixteenth to talk it over and make a plan with Harvey. While I was there, I did a plein air painting of the bronze that was being dedicated that day.

The day's dedication was for a statue of Vernon Baker, a Cheyenne native and the first black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor. The ceremony was moving and I plan to read the book, Lasting Valor which is his biography.

I'm thrilled to be part of this project which combines our

Wyoming life, it's history and art, now in two mediums instead of one.

It was so much fun to paint at the site just before the dedication. I had to move to another spot before the ceremony, which is why this is only started.

I was able to paint an almost complete painting of another sculpture by the same artist, LaQuincey Reed.

Below is the second bronze, The Loving Hands of Mother Tyler. I had more time to do this one and had less to finish at home.

Each of these plein air paintings is 8" by 10" on linen. There's a possibility of doing larger studio paintings for at least some of these, whenever someone wants to commission one.

I also did one of the crowd as it was gathering for the dedication ceremony.

Here they are finished and ready to return to Cheyenne!

Over the summer and fall, I'll be painting at one spot or another. I've got a tentative schedule for the summer. Soon I'll have the locations decided also.

If you're in Cheyenne on one of my painting days, I hope you'll stop and say hello! I'm hoping to be able to do studies of about eighteen to twenty-four of the statues this year.

I love this project! I'll keep you updated as I go. Until next time, take care,

Ginny

P.S. What do you think of this idea? Here's a Wyoming PBS youtube video about the project if you'd like to learn more.