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This image is a photo of my mom, Lola Owen and I at Lakeside Gallery, my parents gallery on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. It was taken in the late 80s or early 90s. Don't you just love those big glasses and cute hat of mine! I miss that hat, I wonder what happened to it. I'm holding those two framed paintings because they belong to the young lady sitting there. I just finished framing them and she was pretty happy with the results.
I had many jobs at the gallery, framer, teacher, sales clerk, model ( when ever my mom needed one ), ordering and stocking merchandise, book keeping, paying bills, scheduling teachers for art workshops, writing news letters and news announcements for the local news paper and janitor. When you work in a family business you ware a lot of hats. I really enjoyed working at the gallery. I lived two blocks away and often walked to work. My kids always knew where I was at and my dog Lacy, ( OK, she was my youngest daughter's dog ) went to work with me.
The summer months in Tahoe were the busy months. There was very little time to sit around. Having a business in Tahoe meant you had to make the majority of your income in the summer when the tourists and summer home owners where there. There was no time for painting then, unless we were short a student for a visiting teacher. The winters months were boooooring! Skiers don't shop in galleries or take art classes so I was able to paint more. My favorite subjects to paint in the winter months were tropical landscapes. The thought of a nice warm tropical beach and dreaming of one day living in Hawaii kept me going through the winters ( over 32 of them ). I was not a snow person. Didn't like to be in it, didn't like to paint it. In fact, I think I only painted two or three snow scenes, ever!
Now here I am, sitting in my Maui studio / classroom, barefooted, warm and happy. Do I miss Tahoe? No, not really. I miss Lakeside Gallery and the fun times we had there. I miss my kids and grand kids. I miss my parents but I am so happy to be living in the world of my dreams.
