"Ahhh . . . Punkie"

11 x 14 (plein air)

This is another from Canaveral Paint Out. This is near Eldora House. As I understand it, when the government bought the owners out to make it a wildlife refuge, one option was to have a life estate to the original owner. This means that the owner could stay in the house but when he or she died it would pass to the government. This was one of the last boat houses standing from the original owners. After letting all of them fall in the water, the park service finally decided to save and restore this one. I painted it from the dock at Eldora House.

One really cool thing happened while painting this one. There was another painter on the dock and at one point she was talking with an elderly man. She mentioned that she was from Orlando and he said that he had grown up in Orlando and even went to the how-closed Orlando High School. I guess this part of the conversation caught my ear and when he walked over to me I told him that my parents had both attended Orlando High School. He asked their names and I said "Dick Andrews and Mary Dettmer". He got a big smile on his face and said "ahhh . . . Punkie". (That was her nickname and her grandmother name for my children.) He had been best friends with my dad's oldest brother. We told some stories and he confirmed most the crazy ones I had heard. He had nothing but good things to say about Punkie and all of the Andrews. It was neat.

You never know what you'll find when your painting. Its a small world.

Thanks for looking.