Two Annas

Names are often a good indicator of one’s age.  Take my name, Don or, officially, Donald.  It’s unlikely that you’ll see it on the roster of children registered for kindergarten these days.  Even Walt Disney’s Donald Duck and McDonald’s Ronald McDonald haven't saved it.  Usually my name is more likely to show up in the list of alumni at 50-year reunions.  Similarly, I’ve never spotted it anywhere in the Bible.  I suspect 2015 years from now it will have gone the way of names like Abinadab and Zebedee.  Now, Anna’s are a different story.  

Anna’s endure.  There’s an Anna in the Gospel of Luke, and Annas have appeared throughout history books ever since.  Wikipedia lists 17 towns and geologic features named Anna.   Karen and I saw our first Anna’a hummingbird this year.  And so, 2015 seems to be the year of the Annas.   Besides that darting feathered creature that Karen photographed, I’ve been presented with photos of two different Annas — grandchildren of friends.  One, “would I be willing…” and one whom I had seen in a photo album where I said, “would you be willing,,,?” 

Somehow I think many future generations of artists (hopefully even in the year 4030) will be looking at images of Annas and think, “I have to paint her.”  As for Donalds — we’ll just have to wait and see.

Anna Page    12 x 12 inches    Alkyd on Canvas.  I edited the photo of this Anna to just include the upper portion of her body, although the full image added another dimension to her character.  It just needed a larger format.  I added the snow flurry to the painting as per "grandma's" request.

Anna in the Garden  12 x 12 inches  Alkyd on Canvas.  I changed some of the flowers in this garden from white something or others to lupines that matched the color of Anna's dress.  Future generations of Annas will never know.