Fine Art America/ Pixels Greeting Card

I have been painting digital art for over ten years. When the iPad was introduced in 2010 I knew it would be a game changer, but I had no idea it would reignite my interest in painting. So I started an Etsy shop - LITDigital Paintings - and have been doing primarily custom pet portraits. When the projects are done the images are uploaded to my other shops on Zazzle, Amazon Merch, Redbubble and Fine Art America. I have also always had an interest in photography and have uploaded many of my favorite images to these sites - so technically there are custom paintings and photos that can be used to create a myriad of products. For the last couple of years I have been participating in a weekly photo challenge called 52Frames. A friend of ours suggested it and it was a great diversion during the pandemic. It also forced me to sharpen my photography skills since I was never really trained or took classes in any of this. And since my camera is my phone there are certain limitations. One of the challenge subjects was “point of focus.” So we went to the Smithsonian American history museum to see the First Ladies gowns. One of them was Dolly Madison. So I took a few photos of it and one of the images was uploaded to Fine Art America/Pixels. It’s always thrilling to get a notice when any of my work is recognized out of the millions of options that are out there. Someone from Arlington, Washington bought a greeting card with this image on it. I certainly couldn’t make a living on these sales, but it’s the idea of it all that tickles me the most. Painting and photography kind of go hand in hand. I never would have thought people from all over the world would notice. 

Montpelier - James Madison's Home

We had not taken a day trip for awhile, so decided it might be a good time to go back to Montpelier since it was renovated to it's original state. James Madison's home is located in between Culpeper and Monticello and is about a two hour drive from Washington DC. We visited there when we first moved to DC, but at the time the house was being renovated from the pink DuPont monstrosity back to the original state, so there was not much to see. Even though it was dreary outside today, the trip was fun because our dear friend came along with us. And that always makes it more entertaining. Along the way we saw a tree full of turkey vultures, and on the way back they were feasting on a deer carcass. After all, Montpelier is out in the sticks, surrounded by a retired thoroughbred horse farm established by the last owners, the DuPonts. But our journey was to learn more about the behind the scenes man who seemed to be out shined by his more verbose, vivacious, and likable wife Dolly. And, I work at the Library of Congress where there is a Montpelier Room, and is also home to the Madison papers. There is even a statue of him in Madison Hall in the Madison Building. You do come away with an even greater respect for the guy, but for some reason, he seems to be lost among the more prominent kinsmen of the time.  It makes you wonder how one moved about when all this important stuff was being discussed. And once you arrived you stayed for awhile. At least now it only takes two hours rather then three days. Some things have changed, but his thoughtful contributions to our American history have not.