The source of this painting is unknown (photo or imagination or both), though imagination seems the most likely.  As for the couple and the dog in the painting, we liked to think of them as based on our dear next door neighbors Hazel and Bill Mills and their dog Sonny Boy.

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The source of this painting is unknown (photo or imagination or both), though imagination seems the most likely.  The stone bridge, however, is based on the Foxhill Bridge at Foxhill Lake in Bowie, MD where we lived.  That bridge is featured in the painting entitled “Foxhill Bridge”.

This painting might be based on a photo from a magazine - Dad was sometimes inspired by the beautiful photos in Ideals magazine.  I liked to walk through his studio and see the progress.  At one point I was looking at the painting, thought it looked finished, and wondered if it was dry.  After all, it had been sitting there for days looking completed.  I wanted to touch it to find out if it was dry, but knew I probably shouldn’t.  Ultimately my 7-year-old self could not resist the urge to touch the painting.  I reached up and picked what I thought was an inconspicuous spot on the lower part of the snow-covered spruce tree in the left foreground.  It wasn’t dry, and I had left a tiny fingerprint.  I hoped that maybe it would not be noticed, but my dad did notice and immediately knew the culprit.  He asked if I had touched the painting, and I admitted I had and explained why.  I think he appreciated my curiosity because he didn’t seem angry at all and explained to me that oil paints take a long time to dry and that it is hard to tell by looking at it.  Lesson learned.  He told me he could fix the damage.  And he did.  And it’s beautiful!