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     Is there anything more welcoming than an open gate of a picket fence? I wanted this painting to have a familiar feeling... to cause a person to wonder, "Have I seen that place? It feels familiar." It was a gift for my sister who lives in Canada. No matter how much time passes between our visits, I always want her to feel welcome when she comes to Pennsylvania.
     I often paint late into the night and I notice that things look very different to me in the morning. Late one night I added the woman picking apples-- I liked what I had already done, but there was a need for a person or two to tell a story of sorts. When I looked at the painting the next morning, I was amazed to see the resemblence to my sister. We are very close, and somehow that came through in the painting, although it was not intended. My hand did the painting, but my heart included my sister in the scene...