Mayor Molly McMole and General Horatio Gates Coincidences or Destiny I'm the blogger today but can you believe this? All true! Strieby wrote in her book 5, WHY IS A SPY CALLED A MOLE, about General Horatio Gates, his portrait is in the Congressional Building. He thought he was hot stuff and should be the first president of our great country, not Commander-in-Chief George Washington. So he showed up at the greeting and thankyou address that Washington gave his melitia, but Gates thought he was The Man. Well, Washington got started on his speech by taking out his glasses to read his notes and remarked that he had a few gray hairs and his eyes weren't the best because of their 8 year journey together to victory and how much he loved his fellow soldiers. Well, that brought down the house--applause, laughter, love, and respect. There is another famous painting of this event with all eyes on Washington and Horatio Gates looking out the window--he knew Washington was going to be our first President--not Horation Gates! Strieby was the Original Concept Artist of the 2016 West Virginia Float in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA--WILD AND WONDERFUL. While she was back in Morgantown at a fundraiser at the Hotel Morgan, a handsome stranger walked across the room to introduce himself, Keith McIntosh, Senator Manchin's aide. Guess what, can you believe it, but Keith grew up in General Horiatio Gate's home and raises beef cattle there. Of course, Strieby and McIntosh became friends and she had no way of knowing they would meet. She had a painting in Book 5 WHY IS A SPY CALLED A MOLE and General Gates' portrait is IN IT. You know my ancestor, Master Spy Christopher McMole, was Washington's spy and is the main character in her book. Strieby put a few generals in her book, but meeting Keith was something that made her proud, and Senator Manchin wanted to give her support in this project by sending Keith. Please excuse any typos in here because I'm Mayor Molly McMole and I have big furry paws and Strieby really doesn't know that I sometimes write these blogs so now it is time for me to scurry, hurry, and jump down my Mole Hole to check on my mole tribe. Have a good one Mayor Molly McMole MMM

< Travel Series Kauai Kapa'a ia a very picturesque town on Kauai. My husband and I loved to go to this restaurant that overlooked this town--on the way to the End of The Road, really it is the final spot in the state of Hawaii. This town, Kapa'a has a walkway right on the beach. We stayed in a resort near a restaraunt named The Bull Shed, right on the ocean. Stan had a love affair with Hawaii because his mom was a missionary there when she was a young woman. We visited here 15 times, he started viting in 1970 and I started visiting there in 2003. Down the road a piece there was the hotel that Elvis Presly starred in Blue Hawaii and South Pacific was filmed there as well as Jurreasic Park. Stan and I hiked up the mountain where the park sign "Jurrasic Park" was still there, approx 2004. Please contact me regarding pricing lorrainestriebyproductions@gmail.com (I painted quite a few paintings that were 12 in x 12 in on canvas, a few on a wall makes a good presentation) When I was in the Wing Gallery on Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, a colletcor bought as soon as they appeared in the Gallery. Thank you Robin and Mark, owners, and great fans and friends.

Seascape Series--View from the Crab Shack, Oceanside, CA I love this fishing boat and so do the seals, pelicans, and seagulls. If you sit at a window seat at the Crab Shack, you get to see all these sea creatures trying to get their next meal or just hanging out. This restaurantis at the Oceanside, CA Harbor. California has such beauetiful harbors--I just took a photo with my Iphone and sketched using my imagination, memory, some collage, acrylic paints, and some techniques I've discovered throughout the years. #harbor #harbors #seascape #fishingboat #seabirds #pelicans #seagull #seagulls #sea #ocean #sealegs #seals Please contact me regarding pricing lorrainestriebyproductions@gmail.com

Seascapes Series One of my favorites--Oceanside Harbor I seem to gravitate to seabirds and sailboats (I was proposed to on one--a small sailboat on a lake in Vermont). This is not Vermont but California. Never knowing who owns these boats, I make up stories in my mind and you can do the same. Camp Pendelton is just across the road so it could be a marine, yes? Oh, and I love painting with acrylics and using collage on black paper. I painted this aroud ten years ago. Happy Sailing... Please contact me for pricing lorrainestriebyproductions@gmail.com

St Petersburg

St Petersburg, Russia Strieby was adventurous so she and her husband, Stan Gunn, met a ship in Stockholm and traaveled to Russia. There she saw a vendor selling soft drinks infront of the onion domed Church of the Savior. The sun was playing magic on his bottles for sale and took away the main story--the cathedral. To her the bottles looked like Russian dancers and stole the show. She painted this from her photograph in 2010 and played with it to tell this story. Mayor Molly McMole Please contact me for the pricing lorrainestriebyproductions@gmail.com

Travel Series - Angel's Gate I didnt have to travel very far to get this inspiration. In 2013 my mom's ashes were buried at sea at San Pedro where the Los Angeles Lighthouse, Angels's Gate, is--not far from the Queen Mary. Coming ashore I saw this sight of San Pedro and Angel's Gate. This is a montage so I just moved the Queen Mary over from Long Beach and Wa La - this diptych, San Pedro. In the bottom left you see a seal. This is no ordinary seal, his name is Charlie and in 1960s he was the US Coast Guard's mascot. He lived there and joined the lighthouse crew for meals. They took him in when he was just a pup. Angel's Gate diptych 48 in x 48 in mixed media Please contact me for pricing lorrainestriebyproductions@gmail.com

England Sketch

Travel Series While traveling through the UK I sketched this painting in my 8 x 11 sketchbook and when returned to the States I had these sketchbook pages enlarged to 13 in x 31 in and then painted it added a border and Wa La—England. My sources--visited museums, walked through neighborhoods, and from memory. Of course, Shakespeare and Big Ben are paired with Queen Elizabeth I. The good thing--it was accepted into the Westminster Gallery in 1999 right accross from the Westminster Cathedral. Its original title was "The Other Eden." The International Society of Acrylic Painters Show. Please contact me for pricing lorrainestriebyproductions@gmail.com