It was pure serendipity. I didn't go outside in the morning for fear of possible rain. In the afternoon I was told it felt good outside, so even though it was kind of late, I decided to go out to paint. When I got to the entrance of the Forest Park, I saw a handsome young man sitting on the stone wall that ran around the high mound. He was working on his cell phone. His posture reminded me of a painting by Kim English (see the picture below). I got a sudden impulse to paint him. Therefore, I turned around and walked back to ask him how long he would be sitting there. He said he was waiting for his friends and asked me why. I told him that if he could sit there for an hour I would paint him a picture. I quickly added that he didn't have to sit rigidly still. Instead, he could relax and do things he naturally would do. He agreed. I immediately got busy to get my easel set up. The sketch took not quite an hour. When he saw the picture, the young man said with a smile, "It's worth waiting." Maybe that is the best compliment to me. He is a ninth-grader. His name is Roland.
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