I started painting the historic tall ship Elissa early in the quiet morning. Apparently, I drew quite a crowd at the Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant once the lunch crowd arrived. One of the servers told me they were afraid I didn’t know what I was doing when all I had laid in was the mass of tonal darks where all that rigging is. Since I wasn’t aware I was doing a “demo,” I didn’t get to explain that I would pull out all the shapes of the beams and rigging by painting it the sky holes. 🙌 They just had to go on feeling sorry for me until I worked it out. 🤩. But despite the misgivings of the kitchen staff, the piece went on to win Best in Show! Many thanks to the juror Thomas Kitts for thinking highly enough of the painting to give it that award!