Over the years, I have painted a lot of illustrations for many fine people. I have also turned away far more work than I will ever have a want to do. I am ashamed to admit that I cannot remember his name, but I will never forget his lovely wife, Jackie!

When this man walked into my studio, I took a chance that he probably had a good looking wife. He wanted to do something special for her for Christmas, and also wanted this to be a surprise.

The situation for a photo shoot could not have been better: She has no idea what he is up to --and he knows exactly what he is doing!

What a look!

I have another great story like this one, but I do not wish to embarrass the girl by telling you who she is or by showing off her image.

When I first moved to Tennessee, I set up camp in at the local EnVogue Art Gallery. Desperate for a project, I was in no position to pick and choose what we were going to be painting for the day. I needed to pay some bills!

Desperate people, in desperate times, do desperate things.

A young girl who walked into the gallery that day wanted something original. She wanted an image of her, but did not like the way she looked. She liked the way she "used to look" back in high school --and all I had to go from was a ten year old photo ID!

My first shot at this one did not go so well. The "pretty girl, looks nothing like me" remark always makes me want to try harder, regardless of the paycheck.

We sketched over the top of the original and I made the proper changes as she envisioned herself to be. A few days pass and the look on her face was worth far more than any numbers on a paycheck.

"This is me!"

Those words always make me happy to hear, though I struggled to see any resemblance between her and the finished product. I cashed the check and it cleared the bank.

End of story. . .

At least, this would have been the end of the story, had I not been stopped a few years later in a local shopping mall by this beautiful woman. The girl I was with at the time did not like the fact that she knew me, but this new blonde bombshell from out of nowhere was treating me like I was her best friend.

On the surface, her story was obvious. She told me she had dropped her pounds, cleared he face and dumped her pig of a fiancée !

Maybe I had nothing to do with this, or perhaps she looked into her painting everyday like it was some sort of a mirror.

I do know this makes for a great story. One that I do not expect you to believe.