These are some of the paintings I did in my early Santa Ana College painting class years. “One Hot Tomato!” was my first Orange County Fair entry - I was hoping to win the Theme award with the clever cherry tomato necklace, but I didn’t get so much as an Honorable Mention. I decided that every year after that I would enter a sexy girl in a red dress with a “theme” necklace - looking progressively more disgruntled - until I won a prize.  The very next year, “Well, That’s Just Grape!” won the Theme award, ending my short-lived series!