It’s often good to tell a story in a painting and since I grew up as a sign painter I decided to paint myself into the scene lettering the transom of this boat. In my earlier years I spent many hours in this position applying sign paint and gold leaf hoping that a gust of wind wouldn’t come along carrying dust and sand to spoil the job which on occasion did happen. Sometimes I lettered boats in the water while standing on a bobbing pontoon raft alongside it. All those have become good memories now.