Shock and Awe

I was approached this morning by a member of the Cumberland Society and asked to join their group. This is an honor that I cannot describe with mere English language. I have a dictionary right here and there is not a word for how flattered I am by this.
Before I became a painter I was an illustrator who constantly said,"someday I will be a painter" and constantly put it on the back burner, always finding a reason to do it later in life. I went to a Cumberland Society show here in Nashville and I actually saw people who were doing this as a profession, right here in my community. They were doing what I wanted to be doing and they were doing it very well. That day they became the yardstick I used to measure my life in art, what I would strive to be. If I worked and committed myself with laser like focus I might be able to do this also. To have them consider me a peer and to know they think my work qualifies for this honor leaves me speechless.
I have also seen the work they do in the art community here and consider them to be a tremendous asset to anybody in the art field in this area. I know they have coached and prodded me along over the years and I have seen them do it with anyone who approaches them with questions. I hope I am able to give and help as much as they have.
So to Dawn Whitelaw, Jason Saunders, Pam Padgett, Roger Brown, Paula Frizbe, and Michael Shane Neal, thank you, thank you a thousand times over and I will do everything I can to uphold everything the group stands for for the next artist wanna be who stumbles into a Cumberland Society show and says,"that's what I want to do."