The church is not only a place of physical warmth after being out in the cold, but a place where the heart is warmed by Christian fellowship. I wanted to capture a moment in time when people were much more neighborly and caring. It's Christmas Eve when people come together and brotherly kindness is at its peak sharing the joy of the season. The rancher's dog is friendly, running to the small child to greet them in his friendly canine way. And the horses quietly wait.

Ironically, as I worked on this oil painting it was in the middle of the summer and the temperature was over 100 degrees. It was so miserably hot that I was almost melting. As I painted the snow, I wished I could somehow crawl into into painting and cool off... Ha! The thought of walking across the snow with my bare feet seemed wonderful. Since then I have read that other artists have painted snow-covered landscapes in the hot summer also, including an artist many years ago who painted Courier and Ives winter scenes. Leanin' Tree cards has chosen Where Hearts Are Warmed for one of its Christmas selections again this year.

I have painted countless commissioned portraits. My painting style has always been realistic with much detail, but yet began to evolve from portraits into more creative and imaginative areas. I still accept portraits by commission occasionally, but spend most of my time creating art from my own imagination.

For the next few years I will be doing a few series, from horses portrayed in the sea and paradise, to unicorns and Pegasus, and horses of the Bible. I plan to do many paintings of horses in beautiful seascapes, landscapes and sunset backgrounds.