Charles Rockey, otherwise known as Rockey in the Colorado Springs area is our most well known and loved artist.  His paintings have a fairy tale quality about them and many are of scenes in Manitou Springs.  In the past, Rockey held a gallery about every 10 years to give people a chance to see and purchase his original paintings.  The final one was in 2001 and he will have no more.  Now at the age of about 81, he no longer sells his paintings, instead his children will inherit them.

Here is Rockey seated outside the day after one of the floods.  Many of the townspeople helped move his belongings outside that were in danger of getting wet.  I heard, but don’t know if it’s true, that he lost some of his art.

You can see a lot of his paintings mounted on the walls in the Cliff  House Inn and Restaurant just a few doors up from his studio.  The Cliff House has a comfy verandah in front for dining or just to enjoy a drink.

That brings me to the prize I received for the photo contest.  Not a painting but the next best thing: One of Rockey’s signed prints:

This is Laurie at the Chamber of Commerce holding up the print.  The scene is: The Meeting of Ruxton and Fountain Creek as viewed from the bridge right next to he Mate Factor Café.  And coincidentally, on Sunday (before I found out I won the contest or knew what the prize would be) Steve, Molly Dog, and I were walking downtown and I happened to take a picture of the creek from the same bridge:

And just as I finished taking the picture a nice couple walked up to us because of Molly and handed us a sample package of Sticky Sheets.  These are large 23”x35” sheets to be used for pet hair and lint removal from large areas.

The Sticky Sheet company is located in wonderful Colorado and if you have a pet that sheds you might want to check out www.stickysheets.com  I formerly used masking tape to remove lint but now having such a large sheet is so much easier.  Even Whoopi Goldberg said these sheets were a “must have.”