The blending of the bold and vibrant with the subdued shades, tones, and hues of pastels results in a work that is both striking and serene. The colors sharply contrast, yet, achieve a balance, a concordance, that attracts the eye and, thereby, the imagination to the scene that the artist has so tenderly rendered.1

Upon viewing the artist's depiction, one might well envisage that it was a history, not unlike the one which follows, that served to inspire our gifted artisan's imagination.

“Morning broke with such breathtaking resplendence that slumber was compelled by hope to swiftly relinquish its somniferous thrall on consciousness. All tokens of sleep were quickly dispelled and relegated to the darkness from which they were delivered by the juxtaposition of cerulean sky, gauzy-white clouds, and gilt-laced sun. Plans, however long in place and carefully laid, must be liberated that the luster of this most singular day might forever remain untarnished and its glory undiminished.

Without premeditation or conscious anticipation and flowing from independent wellsprings, their innermost thoughts merge unspoken at a single spot, now fondly bethought by husband and wife and bringing soft smiles to wrinkled faces and the dawning of teardrops to misted eyes—a cozy, sylvan glade nestled within the old oak grove and secreted from the main path by the gnarled boles and overhung boughs of long ancient trees.

It was within the womb of this holy place that so very many years ago a young, innocent couple had pledged, in the sight of God and midst His unspoiled creation, their undying love. It was beneath the sheltering arms of these venerable oaks where youth and love were eternal; where there beckoned countless, shining tomorrows suffused with happiness nursed by contentment; where each new morning betokened unlimited possibilities; and where love was all that pleasure required to ripen, that two hearts were made one. It was along this long forgotten path, with backs unbowed by decades of labor and spirits unbroken by life's myriad troubles, heartbreaks, and woes, that a boy and a girl with little more than love, hopes, and dreams had often walked; lost mid the unspeakable joys of simple pleasures and the glory of their Creator.

Casting aside, albeit momentarily, the baggage with which each life is inevitably laden, eyes—dimmed by time—meet, subtle smiles bespeak hope—both renewed and recalled, and with an unbridled joy borne of a love tested, refined, and purified, an elderly couple, hand-in-hand and heart-in-heart, enter an old oak grove.”

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