In 1994 I was visiting my cousins Keith and Hazel in Whitewell, Wales when they took me to visit the local church near their house. I fell in love with the place. I took photos of the church and vowed to come back the following year and paint it. They took us to the airport and we said our goodbyes.  I would never see our Hazel again as she died suddenly a few weeks later at the age of 47. I returned to the church the following year to find her buried in the churchyard cemetery. I thought of her as drew pictures of the church and the gate wrapping around the graveyard. I later sent prints of the finished works to Keith, Miss Audrey who lived next to the church and a wealthy gentleman who was interested in commissioning some work from me. Last April I revisited the church with Keith who got a hold of the key to the church and let me inside. I was quite pleased to find the two prints I had given to to wealthy man framed and hanging in the foyer of the church.

Keith and Hazel had two children Vern and Debbie who I think dearly of. Debbie was my lovely date at the AT Ball in Chester, England last year. Vern always seemed to have a mischievous gleam in his smiling eyes. He even stayed with us in the States for a bit. He was my go to guy in the UK. I knew I could count on him if I needed anything. I could show up at the airport broke and call him and he would come get me. Sadly, like his mum, he died young unexpectedly and was buried here. I paid my respect to both my cousins. This post is a tribute to them. It was a bitter sweet day for me but I was honored my art had been appreciated so much.