St. Charles gallery owner happy with Bush painting

From John Carlson’s standpoint, it was the smile that made the painting stand out.

And Carlson, the owner of La Galerie art gallery in St. Charles for the past 24 years, knows a thing or two about paintings.

The smile was the key feature on a portrait of former President George W. Bush, who spoke at Judson University in Elgin last week, where Carlson gave him the presidential painting by Ukrainian artist Vitaly Mikhailov.

Carlson commissioned the painting to Mikhailov, who has done other paintings of the Fox Valley region through his connections with Carlson’s overseas galleries.

“President Bush is a down-to-earth person, so this painting really captures what he is like, with casual clothes, rather than in a suit,” Carlson said of the painting. “But it was his smile that made it, and he is such an upbeat and humorous person.”

By having Mikhailov do the painting, Carlson said the gift to Bush had international relations built in.

“Ukraine and the United States have been allies in Iraq and Afghanistan, so it was good that Vitaly did this painting,” Carlson said.

Mikhailov has also finished a painting of Bush shaking hands with Judson University President Jerry Cain, and that should be arriving soon.

Grandma’s growing familyFreda Ryan already had a lot of birthdays and anniversaries to keep track of in her extended family.But the St. Charles grandmother recently had a few more added to her calendar on the same day when three great-grandchildren were born.Freda#146;s score card now includes five children, 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.Her granddaughter Sarah Snyder had twins in California on April 8, while grandson Phil Studdard#146;s wife, Essy, had a baby girl the same day.#147;Another granddaughter is expecting in August,#148; Freda said about her growing family.She hopes to be able to visit the newborns in California at some point, but Freda has some calendar juggling at hand. #147;I have a grandson in New York getting married in May,#148; Freda said. #147;Life is good.#148; A surprising milestoneAt some point in the not-too-distant future, seeing an obituary for someone 100 or older will be fairly routine.But those obituaries still catch your attention these days #8212; especially when you notice the passing of two 101-year-old residents from the Fox Valley area in the same week.Ann Gregie of Aurora and Kathryn Prillaman of St. Charles were both born in 1909 and passed away last week, just a few days apart.When I see notices about centenarians passing away, it amazes me to think that, in many cases, these people were born a year after the Cubs last won a World Series title.Laughs benefit horsesField of Dreams Horse Rescue and Adoption is counting on the comedy and music of the Midnight Swinger to raise funds for the horse rescue facility in St. Charles.The Midnight Swinger show will be held at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Zanies Comedy Club at Pheasant Run in St. Charles. Tickets are $25 with all of the profits going to Field of Dreams, but they must be purchased in advance by calling Sandy at (847) 312-2516.