"Quilts for Rafiki Boys" Acrylic on canvas 18 x 24 in

Children at the Rafiki Aids Ministry Orphanage outside of Nairobi, Kenya, receive new quilts designed and sewn by members of the Quilt Ministry of our church, First Community Church. The quilts not only serve to keep the children warm during the cool Kenyan nights, they also brighten the dorm rooms that the children call their home. The painting, taken from one of my wife's photos, shows four boys receiving their new quilts during a June, 2009 visit by FCC members, including my wife, Connie. Barb Davis and Ginny Culver, two of the quiltmakers, were there to distribute the quilts and later see them displayed in the dorm rooms.

" Masai Woman" oil 16x20 in.

This painting was accepted for the first annual Laumeister Fine art Competition at the Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont. A well respected artist, Albert Handell, selected "The Masai Woman" along with another painting, "Paints and Brushes" shown below. The announcement said it was a very high calibar show and hope I am proud to be selected as part of the show. To be sure, I am.

This painting is from a photograph taken by my wife Connie, who was in Kenya this summer. It is one of a series of paintings I am doing of Kenya scenes including the Rafiki orphanage, the Ndiri square, and a Safari on the Masai Mara. The trip was a mission of First Community Church, which supports the orphanage for children whose parents have died of AIDs.

The Laumeister Fine Art Competition will be held September 19-November 29, 2009. Award winners will be announced by Mr. Handell at a reception October 24. First place: $4000, Second:$2000; Third: $1000.