My sister, Bree, made a lusciously pink, strawberry-smelling cake in the shape of a cat for Rachel’s birthday. She dropped by last night to sneak the pink cat into my fridge for safe-keeping until Monday. My girl turns 5 this Wednesday, February 25th, but we are celebrating on Monday.
My nephew Ryan, toting his art pad and pencil, came with Bree. Lincoln immediately dragged out his violin and offered to play. It is a sweet relief to see him taking pleasure in our almost 2-year dedication to violin lessons. While Lincoln played song after song, Ryan sat on the couch sketching.
Ten minutes later, I had this . . . . . .
Ryan did an excellent job of capturing the “essence’ of my Lincoln — the large head balanced atop a slender body, Lincoln’s posture that is awkward yet graceful at the same time, the way a giraffe stands and moves with stilted grace.
You should see Ryan draw straight onto Adobe Photoshop. He is just as amazing drawing onto the computer as he is with the antiquated paper and pencil. It is amazing the way he starts with a blank slate and a picture emerges almost immediately with a few pencil strokes.
Ryan is currently looking for a job. If you would like some artwork done, either family portraits or website art or whatever, I would jump on it now, while he is a starving artist and largely unknown. I am envisioning drawings of my other kids, framed and lining the stairwell. I better get this done soon, while he has the time and is working in my price range.
Hey, Ryan, are cookies in your price range? Cheesecake? Brownies? A full meal with a dessert?
Prairie Sings 
ryan just saw this entry. i can tell he is secretly pleased by your praise. he did give a little chuckle about the desserts. i just bet that would be payment enough. love bree
Uh, how about a picture of the cake that we poor relatives don’t get to taste?