One of the joys of having a business on the main street of Dutton in the summer time is to sit on a bench in the shade in front of the gallery and watch the people and traffic pass by. Sometimes it is just a nod of the head, other times great conversations evolve. One of my pleasures is to chat with the young people in the strollers or those in wagons, on trikes or even in these new battery operated tractors and jeeps. Our first encounters are often brief with little or no eye contact but subsequent visits and familiarity soon reveals the developing personalities. Year by year I watch their growth and progress and marvel at their intelligence. Karen (Pickering) Timmerman walked by with young Amy in the stroller. I was immediately attracted to this chubby cheeked cherub.

One day when Karen and Amy were strolling by, Amy was wearing an old-fashioned dress that Grandma Timmerman had made. Her little legs were clad in navy blue ribbed stockings and with little black leather Mary Janes on her dainty feet. She wore a floppy brimmed denim hat to protect her fair skin from the harsh summer sunlight’s damaging rays. What a doll!

I asked Karen if she would allow David to photograph Amy some sunny afternoon in Centennial Park, so I could do a painting of her. Karen said yes. The weather turned damp and weeks passed.