Good news!

I photographed this painter once before back in April. That was the first time I encountered him in the park and learned that he is a landscape artist, frequently painting scenes in the many wonderful parks in northeast Ohio. He doesn't limit himself to the parks, but I think he may have painted in every one of the Lake County Metropolitan Parks and some in neighboring counties as well.

This morning I watched as he unloaded the equipment from his vehicle and set it up not far from where I was trying to blip some birds in a tree filled with gorgeous red berries. What a great picture it would be for my blip if I could just capture a chickadee or nuthatch eating those berries, I was thinking as I stood on the trail and waited and waited and waited for a bird to land in the tree. But the birds weren't cooperating today, so I moved on down the trail to say hello to the artist.

We exchanged a few words. Then he told me that for their next newsletter the metropolitan park people want to include a picture of him painting in the park. He doesn't have one, but he remembered the picture I had taken a few months back. "Could I give them that one", he wanted to know, "and I will give you credit for the photo?" That had been the first time I approached a stranger in the park to ask for a photo op, and I can't tell you how very, very pleased I am that he liked it and actually wants to use it. Pure serendipity!