A few days after the event illustrated above, Carla attended the annual meeting of The Friends of the Weatherford Library (the previous event was the group's sponsor appreciation luncheon). The meeting was held at Chandor Gardens in Weatherford, Texas, once the estate of famed British portrait painter Douglas Granvil Chandor (SHAN-der). He is known for his portraits of many important figures, including Franklin Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Winston Churchill, and Queen Elizabeth II. He painted the only portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt for which she actually sat.
In 1936, Chandor and his new second wife, Ina Kuteman Hill, a native of Weatherford, began to transform a chalky knob just southwest of downtown Weatherford into a stylish home amid a wondrous garden complex, with motifs from China, Japan, and elsewhere. The site today is owned and operated by the City of Weatherford. It is a popular site for weddings, parties, and meetings of civic groups.
Here we see Carla, late in the afternoon, on one of the bridges crossing the network of small streams and canals on the property.
Douglas A. Kerr:
Carla at Chandor Gardens F15269
Flash fill with Speedlite 580EX II on a Canon EOS 40D
I'd like to fill you in on an interesting aesthetic development here. From my earlier work, you know Carla as a redhead, a state resulting from skilled application of modern chemicals. A while ago, she decided to give that up. She stopped applying the colorant, to see what grew out - after which she would decide what to do next.
Well, what emerged was the most glorious shaded medium blond, just as you see it in the photograph. She maintains it just that way. Another triumph for "better lucky than good!"
Carla sends her regards to all of you.
