Artists

When I lived in Prague, my two best friends were Stuart Jackson and Jesse Littell. Stuart and Jesse had been roommates in college. I knew Stuart because his father was my childhood dentist. Actually, I didn't know Stuart at all even though we both grew up in Charleston and his father was my dentist but in a weird turn of synchronicity my father ran into his father one day and my father said, "Mindy is going to Prague" and Stu's father said, "Stuart is going to Prague" so Stu's father called Stu and said, "Look up this girl in Prague and look out for her." Very southern and very sweet.

So he did. I was mesmerized by them from the get-go. Stu and Jesse were like yin and yang. Stu, tall, blond and fair with a sweet smile and Jesse, dark and brooding with a devilish grin you could just tell he'd had since he was a little boy. We three became the best of friends. We knew noone else at the time so we did everything together. It was one of the most wonderful times of my life. We all had so much fun together, I smile and get teary-eyed both when I think about those days.

But that's not why I'm telling you about them. Stuart and Jesse went to Prague to paint. They are artists. Unbelievable artists. It's more than technique, although they both have their own original styles. It's in their hearts. Watching them work, as I did for hours on end, you just know that there is nothing else they could possibly do. They have to paint. The brush is an extension of their souls into their fingertips and onto the canvas. I loved to watch them create. It was awesome and inspiring.

I bring this up because I was thinking about Stuart today, we've kept in sporadic touch, but I haven't seen him since his sister's wedding last summer and I was trying to get in touch. Then I thought about Jesse and for fun I googled him and found his website. If he was good back then, he's miraculous now. That is why I bring this up so everyone can look at his work on his site called No Such Paintings.

I googled Stuart to see if he had a site up but I couldn't find one. You can bet next time I talk to him I'll get on him for that.

Jesse gave me a painting for my birthday one year. It's of a closet with piles of stuff just spilling out of it. I treasure it. It is so me.

They are my inspiration. And while I'll never, as long as I live, paint like them, they inspire me to keep creating. And I love them both.