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Dear Friends:
We are all breathing a sigh of relief here in Mathews, Virginia, this week as we learn about the terrible destruction caused by tornadoes in Suffolk, Colonial Heights, and Brunswick. We were briefly included in a tornado warning by the National Weather Service Monday afternoon, but we were spared. Others were not so fortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are with them. We imagine how we would feel if our own homes were destroyed, and our hearts ache for our neighbors to the south and the west of us.
This weekend my daughter Patty and I will be with my friend Shirley Medlin in Leesburg, Virginia, for a show at her gallery Medlin Art, Ltd. Shirley’s staff, volunteers, and collectors are a joy to be with. Everyone is professional and at the same time warm and friendly. We’re very much looking forward to being with them.
We’ll be releasing a print depicting a street scene in nearby, historic Middleburg, Virginia. Middleburg features The Red Fox Inn, which was built in 1728 and has enjoyed a long and rich history. As Mathews natives would say, “That place has heard the wind blow,” which means that the building has withstood and witnessed much. It survived both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, serving as both a headquarters and a hospital for the Confederates at the beginning of the Gettysburg campaign during the latter. While strategy was being planned by General Jeb Stuart and Colonel John Mosby upstairs in what is known today as the Jeb Stuart Room, wounded soldiers were cared for in the tavern rooms below. The pine service bar, which is in use today in the Tap Room, was made from the field operating table used by an army surgeon who served with General Stuart’s cavalry. The Red Fox Inn has hosted many notable guests from George Washington to President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy to Elizabeth Taylor and many others. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.
Middleburg will be released as a limited edition print during Medlin Art, Ltd.’s, show May 2-3. For more information, please contact the gallery at 703-771-8696.
I think it’s time for me to answer another question, since I’ve received the same question from three different people in the past week. That question is if I have a “bucket list.” By the way, I absolutely loved the movie The Bucket List, and I would love to travel with Jack Nicholson on that trip! For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, a “bucket list” is a list of things you want to do before you die. My answer is that I don’t have one, but I still want to paint my best painting ever.
I haven’t planned my life or anything in it. I was lucky to be in schools that were good for me. Having my children was very good for me, and loving to work has been good for me. If I can continue to travel, I’ll love it. If I can continue to meet wonderful, interesting people, I’ll love it. If my energy level stays high, great! If things don’t happen, I’ll accept that, too. Life is good, and I’m happy and pretty healthy. What more can I ask?
Love,
Pat
The Moss Portfolio in Mathews, VA, is also the seasonal home of a flock of wild geese, which is most appropriate considering my use of geese in my art. We look forward to seeing the new babies each spring.
The Moss
Portfolio
74 Poplar Grove Lane
Mathews, VA 23109
(800) 430-1320
©P. Buckley Moss 2005