[Tom Edgerton]

Alex, thanks, your response is very gratifying.

The flower is deliberately under-rendered and de-emphasized. Once I realized it had to be included, the trick was how to do it without making him look like a schookid carrying a candle into a convocation. I hope it works.

I'm constantly struggling with how get emotional truth without equating it with over-detailing and over-polishing, and I find it quite hard. I want to tell my client's story, and satisfy myself artistically (and pay the light bill). It's a lot to ask in one piece, and it doesn't always happen. Your work, among others, has been a guide for me in this regard.

Mike, Patty, and Mary Ann--thanks so much for the encouragement!