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There can be a great deal of satisfaction from painting, more than just the obvious. Sure, when a piece just flows and even I'm surprised by the results, that's wonderful, but there is more.

Much of my focus has been in painting the people who pass in and out of my life. Family members, old and new friends, or random, unsuspecting strangers off the street I will never know are subjects. These paintings can evoke more then just a casual emotion.

I'm sitting here at my desk with two handwritten letters from friends. Both explain the situations surrounding their reasons for purchasing a painting. Interestingly, both of their stories start during a holiday. The first was Thanksgiving 1997 at Gemini House in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The second was during Labor Day at Jones Pond Campgrounds in Angelica, New York in 2006.

Okay. Ten years is a long way to go back to tell a story about my art when I only started painting with acrylics five years ago. You got me; however, it's relevant to the story's development. So, work with me.

You're thinking, "Gosh, Brian has a great memory for dates and places." It just so happens I keep journals. A calendar journal, photo journals, and travel journals. Just in case, I even have a section in my personal name and address database for additional details. It's a place I take note of anything special and worth noting about a person. You can say it! Anal Retentive Tendencies Indicating Superfluity Transgression or ARTIST for short!

Steve and I were on vacation in Fort Lauderdale and were staying at Gemini House, a small bed and breakfast during Thanksgiving week in 1997. Our hosts, John and Rickie, invited us to join them for holiday dinner along with a few other B&B guests and a handful of their friends. The other guests included a couple from Douglas, Michigan. Small world! One of their local friends was Bill.

He and his partner had recently gone their separate ways, so he was looking forward to a dinner away. Bill had been spending his week in the middle of a project. He was laying ceramic tile, getting the house he shared with his former partner ready to put on the market. We have since learned one thing about Bill. He is always in the middle of a project. Whenever we would come for a visit, he would have a stack of lumber and some new wonder tool we would have to maneuver around.

In the ten years we have known Bill, we have seen him for only short visits and sporadically. It's funny, though, how our paths cross. With the purchase of a Solaris Sunlite Travel Trailer, our winter vacation spot has been Camp Mars in Venus, Florida. It turned out that Bill had bought a fixer-upper RV at the very same campgrounds. Did I mention Bill likes projects?

During one of our trips down, we were able to coordinate with Bill to spend a few days together. Steve and I were all settled in when the owner of the RV park pulled Bill's trailer out of storage and onto a site. It had two flat tires and a busted sky light. A good thing I carry an air compressor, a spare jack, and a toolbox. Bill took the damage all in stride. Did I mention Bill likes projects?

With repairs out of the way, an afternoon of lying by the pool was in order. That's what vacations are all about, right? Vacations are also a time to take pictures. Having taken up painting, I was hoping to get a few photos for inspiration. Bill agreed to be my subject. He was very good-natured about the whole thing.

Once home, Bill had me e-mail the photos I had taken of him. We both liked the same photo. I used it as a basis for a painting and he used it to post with his online profile in a search for someone special. It gave just a hint of what he was like without revealing too much. Well, the photo caught someone's eye, and Bill took it from there.

From here, we move forward to February 2007. The location again is Camp Mars. Steve and I were on vacation for the week and were joined by Bill and that someone special. The four of us hit it off great. Between dinners, movies, and sitting by the pool, the three days we were all together just flew by. There was that one morning Bill and I worked at replacing the awning on his trailer. Have I mentioned . . . ?

Well, it was no surprise that the painting of Bill held a special place in both their lives. I cannot be more pleased that it has found the perfect home with these two good friends.

Of course not all these kinds of stories start out under the best of circumstances. Take, for example, the time we were at Jones Pond Campgrounds in New York State during Labor Day weekend in 2006. It was more of a lost love that prompted the purchase of one of my paintings.

As I write this, I can understand why everyone seems to get the impression that we are always on vacation.

Anyway, for a quick weekend getaway from the demanding jobs where we spend hours and hours, we were in much need of some relaxation by indulging in our hobbies. Steve will drag along his 100-pound bag of sheet music, so he can play his Concertina and I will have my paints and canvas hoping to be inspired.

I will create a mini art gallery by setting out my recent works on the available picnic table. Very first class! Fellow campers out for a stroll with their dogs, will see me painting or hear Steve's music and drop by. It's a great way to meet to people.

The moment someone tells me he wants a specific painting is a moment ingrained in my mind. It really is like a part of me is being taken away, but in a good way. It's best described as sharing a part of one's soul. When you spend hours of intimate time with a painting, where each brush stroke is like a fingerprint, there is a very personal connection. Is that too corny?

At any rate, when a group of three strangers walked up to my "art gallery," one of them pointed to a painting without so much as any hesitation and said "I want that one." It was really an odd sensation. What was it about that one that drew it to him so quickly? It would be five months before I found out.

At the point of sale, I always try to get the person's name and address. The stranger from Jones Pond was no exception. His name was Craig from New Jersey, and he was with his two best friends. I would spend the next five months mailing out my art cards with a personal note to Craig. Then, on February 14, 2007, I received a handwritten letter with a New Jersey postmark.

It turns out that Craig had buried his partner after a long, painful struggle with cancer. It was three months later when he met a friend of his best friend, and he realized his life would turn around. Their meeting was described as "instant for both . . . ." The budding relationship was difficult at first. A New Jersey and Boston commute was not the long-distance relationship that either one wanted. Two months before the trip to Jones Pond where I met Craig, they moved in with each other.

Craig describes his time at the campgrounds as "in the middle of a crisis." One morning, shortly before the trip he would make to Jones Pond, Craig was abandoned by his new partner with no explanation. He recounts his situation as going from one heartache to the next. The picture he bought reminded him of his lost love, he shared.

So as I reflect on my passion, my art has given me the chance to connect with people in a way where I wouldn't have otherwise. It has made my life richer because of it. I can only hope that sharing some of my "art" stories has given you a little more insight into what it's all about and why I continue to paint. The passion in a person's life should flow and be full of emotion. It provides inspiration.