Montana Appaloosa, Missoula Carousel Horse, oil painting.

A few years ago, the Missoula Carousel had their 10th anniversary. The anniversary party was a fund raiser for the carousel. I volunteered to do a painting for the party, and this painting, along with others by other artists, was to be raffled off to create funds to keep the carousel operating. Once the painting was gone, and the party was over, I never learned who bought the painting and didn't know where it went. Today, we arrived at my parents house, and soon afterward, my son arrived with my grandson. My grandson was holding photos of this painting. My son said, "Hey Nathan, give those pictures to your grandma." I looked at the photos and asked my son, "Where did you get photos of my painting?" He replied, with a funny look on his face, "Mom, that's not your painting!" I said, "Yes it is, how'd you get photos of it?" He said, "I saw this painting in one of the big hotels in Spokane, I thought you'd like the painting so I took pictures of it. It's not your painting." I started to laugh and I said, "Johnnie, I did that painting for the Missoula carousel's 10th anniversary party-it's MY PAINTING! I promise you, I painted it." He started laughing, he said, "Well, I saw this in an exhibit in a hotel in Spokane last year, and I thought you'd like to see this painting, so I took pictures of it. It took me a year to remember to bring the pictures to you." My son saw the painting in a hotel in Spokane, didn't know I'd created the painting, and brought me pictures of it because he thought I'd like to see it. I think that's so funny. He said he didn't even look at the signature on the painting. And now I know a little bit of the history of what happened to my painting after it was auctioned off years ago. I don't know if the painting was purchased by the hotel at the auction in Missoula, Mt, or if it ended up there some other way, but it's fun to know a little bit about what's happened to it. Donna Ridgway