Another attempt at my first posting

[John Reidy]

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words and the criticism. You're right, Marvin, I did ask for them and I take them seriously. I kept hearing your voice when I worked throughout the painting, especially the background. The diploma is a very important element for my client and the blue mat is the school's color, although somewhat taken down a bit. I was afraid to go too far.

Holly, I haven't taken much time to visit the forum but I did discover some postings of yours and I'm glad to see you are still active and enjoy seeing your work. It's very nice. My hope is that I'm around for a long time.

Again, thanks to all.