Dear Friends,

I have enjoyed a quiet and productive week at home. I am thankful for my home and my family that surrounds me. It affords me the state of mind to get the images in my head out to where they can be shared.

Here is a work in progress in multiple versions.  I was inspired by a local horse farm in Hanover, PA. One of these may be selected for release in November at Martin’s Gallery. More to come.

My daughter, Becky Ghezzi, and I will be travelling to the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley near Middletown, VA this weekend. Our destination is the historic Belle Grove Plantation. I will be at Belle Grove September 9th from 10am to 3pm with my good friends from King James Galleries of Winchester. Together we will release my new print, Herding at Belle Grove.

I would like to share a little of the history of this place and its significance to my print. The Belle Grove manor house was built in 1797 by Major Isaac Hite and his wife Nelly Madison Hite, sister of President James Madison. The plantation is situated on 283 of the original 483 acres and is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site. Breathtaking views of the mountains, a heritage apple orchard and a teaching garden designed by the Garden Club of Virginia are a few of the highlights.

Belle Grove is also host to the 2017 USBCHA National Sheepdog Finals. This event is being held in the large rolling fields on September 25- October 1st. The 2017 National Sheepdog Trials will feature champion dogs from each state in the United States and Canada.  Of note, the plantation is no stranger to sheepdogs as Belle Grove’s founder, Major Hite, kept a flock of Merino sheep on the property.

The inspiration for this print came from the Sheepdog trials and their longstanding connection with Belle Grove Plantation.

This week we announced the winner of This Great America Summer of Art contest. I must confess to having enjoyed each and every entry. I was sorry to see it end. Reading the essays was a lot like taking a trip somewhere without the bother or expense. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter.

Our winner was Beth Callahan of Ohio. This single mother of three wrote a beautiful essay based on my print The Beacon.  Her words captured the spirit of the place and presented the light as an allegory. Read Beth’s essay here, The Beacon essay.

Here’s a picture of me calling Beth.

My contest winner, Beth Callahan is all smiles.

Beth used The Beacon print for her inspiration for her essay.

Print number 1 of Barnstormer has been sent to Beth. Congratulations on a job well done.

There is much anxiety surrounding the arrival of Hurricane Irma. I hope that those in her path heed the warnings and seek appropriate shelter. Pray for their safety.

I have already begun packing for our upcoming Moss Society trip to Italy. I am looking forward to reconnecting with friends and making a few new ones on the way.
   

Love,