A Charity Auction for Disadvantaged Kids

So last week was a week of fun things - i got to fly to Justin, TX to visit my best artist friend, Laurie Justus Pace, one of the 5Graces founders.
We spent a lot of time doing fun things, like visiting Donna Howell-Sickles studio/gallery, attending a wedding, eating some great Texas food in a local famous steakhouse (right beside a bank that was robbed by Bonnie & Clyde), driving around in the car in high winds and booming thunder and gushing rain, grabbing chicken from the cauldron of death, and best and most important of all: creating a joint painting in the studio, which proceeds will go to Michael Bolton Charities to help disadvantaged kids.

My 7-year old daughter Annie-Mae sat model for it, and also was the name giver for the painting's title: "Looking into Grace" (she came up with that by herself, without any prompting from anybody else).
Laurie and I spent a long time in the studio, first sketching out the drawing with charcoal, then we started right up with Holbein Duo Oils. Both of us worked simultaneously, reworking areas, highlighting, darkening, shaping and correcting.


Both of us were in awe at the energy in the room and that we saw emerging from the canvas.
This is the finished painting:


Annie-Mae occasionally checked in on our progress, just to keep it real for us.
Both Laurie and I had a hard time getting to sleep that night, all pumped up from painting together.

So here is the auction on ebay:
Looking Into Grace Charity Auction

or, if you'd rather search for it yourself, you can type Pace Togel into the search field on ebay.com.
Remember, all proceeds go to the Michael Bolton Charities - it's a way to give disadvantaged kids a better future than they have in their past. Please join us in making a big difference for them - spread the word, and keep on bidding!

Here is the link to the page about the auction on my website:
Laurie Pace & Conni Tögel Create Joint Painting for Michael Bolton Charities

If you need more information about Laurie, you can find at Lauries Daily Blog

You can also read more about the 5Graces by going to their website - 5Graces.org

Both of us have our work listed on ArtByUs.com
so if you miss the charity auction, and still would like to purchase some of our work, ArtByUs.com is the place to find it.