Paintings in Oil: Karen's Solo Show at Shain Gallery

Karen and I drove up to Charlotte Friday to attend the reception of her solo show at Shain Gallery. We headed out of Atlanta a little before 7. With warm beverages within reach and Stephen King's the Stand playing on the iPod I hit the cruise control and we were off.

We got into town around 11 and stopped by the gallery to say hello and check out the room. The space looked great. Sybil Godwin, the gallery owner, and her staff had done a wonderful job of hanging the paintings. After spending some time getting reacquainted with everyone Karen and I drove over to our favorite restaurant CO for two bowls of Curry Laksa.

With lunch under our belts we went to our hotel to check in. We stayed at the LeMéridien last year and liked it so much we decided to stay there again this year. At check in the desk clerk made us, "guests of the day"! I guess she thought we had nice faces. As a result we got free valet parking, free breakfast and they upgraded our room to a suite on the 16th floor with walls of windows on two sides. Spectacular view.

At six we entered the gallery and the first patrons were just beginning to arrive. The weather that evening was perfect and it wasn't long before the gallery was full. Karen, who is usually a little apprehensive about being the center of attention, soon got into a comfortable groove with the crowd. Which was good because everyone wanted to speak with her. When the show was over she and I said to each other, "this is about as good as it gets".

Oh, and one last thing, Karen sold sixteen of the twenty paintings she did for the show!

As things were winding up at the gallery I was talking to Bill Godwin, Sybil's husband about where Karen and I might have dinner. He knew we were vegans and said he, a devout carnivore, had heard good things about Luna's Living Kitchen, so we went there. It was a little hard to find, especially in the dark in an unfamiliar city, but eventually Siri and a phone call got us there. The structure had a nice open air industrial chic design with large funky art on the walls. Everything on the menu was all whole food plant based with no processed products. Not even tofu. Our server was friendly, I mean really friendly, and was happy to spend as much time as we needed describing items on the menu. We started with a nut based cheese plate, which sounds strange but was really good, then Karen had the Carrot humus bowl and I had the Mexican bowl. Man! Karen commented to me about half way through her entree, "this is the best salad I've ever had in my life". That coming from someone who eats a lot of salads. I wish there was a Living Kitchen in Atlanta.

The next morning after our (free) breakfast we set the Garmin for home and drove back still riding the high of the night before. All in all a virtually perfect couple of days.

Here are a few images of the reception: