"Oldie but Goodie - Part II"

Finally getting around to posting that second "Oldie but Goodie" that I mentioned last week.  This one is titled "Homesteader", and like the "Golden Eagle" image that I posted last week, is one of my early Graphite, or Pencil portraits.  As with "Golden Eagle", I recently had cause to remove the original from its' frame, and took the opportunity to scan it into the computer.  Again, I used PhotoShop to clean up the background noise, and am very happy with the results.  The original photograph was taken by a friend of mine, Jon Carissimi, and while the subject was a farmer in Florida, I thought that he fit in perfectly with my Western portraits, and so he found a home in my Faces West Gallery.  The link in the title will take you to my FineArtAmerica Gallery, where you'll find "Homesteader" along with all of the images I've posted there so far.

A Trail Band Christmas

Time for our annual excursion to the Trail Band Christmas Concert in Salem, OR.  The Trail Band is an 8-piece all-star group of musicians from Oregon that present musical theatre performances dramatizing the history and music of the West.  Featured in the group are Marv and Rindy Ross, of Quarterflash fame ("Harden my Heart"), and the Christmas Concert always features guest performer Linda Hornbuckle as well. Click on the link in the title to go to their website to meet the Trail Band, check out their performance calendar and listen to some of their music. They are an amazing group of talented musicians and put on quite a show each year.  They are very reminiscent of a group I used to perform with, The Colorado History Theater, and our production of  "Legend & Legacy".  Where "Legend & Legacy" told of the history of Colorado Springs and the surrounding areas through vignettes, character studies and music, The Trail Band is mostly music with some humorous anecdotes.  Their Christmas CD's are great, as are the CD's that focus on the early settlers.  I think we must have just about every CD they've come out with so far.  If you live in this area of the Pacific Northwest, you should definitely try to see one of their performances, and if not, I highly recommend starting your own CD collection.