NOTE: if you are a regular on this blog, you know that i always put the most recent post on top. today, in honor of keith, i reversed the order. so scroll down for the most recent pics of parade 52.
11:39 am: this morning while shaving & showering, i thought of keith bellows. we had worked together 7 years ago on the first iteration of what has now become actionlab. we were in DC often to meet with the team, of which he was a part, working on the project. and when the project was passed back to us to own and develop by the then CFO, we continued to visit with keith whenever we were in DC, and he always graceously made time in the midst of his crazy schedule.
he was then editor of national geographic's traveller magazine, a post he held until he left last year. no need for me to expound on keith's larger than life presence; his generosity; his creative brillaince; his down to earth warmth. just google him and read the many tributes from friends and co-workers. lately i've been active on facebook, so i decided to look him up & friend him. a photograph of keith came up with the word remembering beneath it. a shiver passed through my body. no. it can't be. keith was just 63 years old. when i entered his name and did a google search, there it was. he died the saturday before last. he had cancer, but was very private about it.
so, still in shock and mourning for a great man we knew, i start my day in my studio, deeply saddened but also energized and inspired by him. it was an honor, keith.
1:19 pm: JUMPING INTO PARADE 52
i have finally, after days of postponing, jumped in to parade 52, and here are the first pics
2:35 pm: current state of parade 52
parade 52 48x48" oil on portrait linen this is the current (2:35pm) state of the painting in progress.
3:29 pm: here's where i' stopping for the day. i'll clean up & go back to the house to continue editing. getting close to completing all the chapters in the curriculum, on schedule for our IT team to start loading it onto the site.