Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Great Card from Lyons Studio

Christmas cards, holiday cards, and new year cards are something everyone likes to receive.  If you're a normal person the cards that arrive in your mailbox typically have traditional symbols of the season on the outside and great messages of love and joy inside.  Yet, if most of your friends are somehow involved in aviation, the cards are often very unique on the outside and filled with optimistic messages of good flying seasons to come.  Of course, many also have sympathetic messages for the shared disease of aviation.  The rest of them are inherently unique to anyone with a passion for life.
Some of you may recognize this hangar.
Some of these cards have planes on final to snow covered runways, others show Santa Claus preparing a Cub for a flight around the world, and one we get every year that we always look forward to has an amazing piece of unique artwork on its face.  The later one is from Lyons Studio.
Many years have passed since we started receiving these cards from Sam and Mindy Lyons and each year we look forward to the surprise of what will be on it.  Typically created from a painting of Sam's, they are modified to represent the spirit of the holidays.  Some of the artwork they use may have been seen before, and others, like this year's choice, are a take on a painting that was done for a customer yet not sold publicly.  And yet, although never sold publicly, Ginger and I had both seen this one before.
The origins of this painting involve one of the fly-ins held here at Lee Bottom.  After having another great time at the event, our friend Glenn Frith was inspired to talk to Sam and Mindy Lyons who were also on hand.  Soon, as Glenn put it, all his favorite things were in Sam's notes and a deal was struck for a one of a kind painting.
Among the items Glenn wanted in the work were his daughter, his dog, his Super Cub, a C3B Stearman, and his favorite airport, Lee Bottom.  Today, the original product hangs at Glenn's place in a location where he sees it every day, much of the painting he commissioned many years ago has taken a new life as a limited edition holiday card from Lyons Studio, and Lee Bottom has made another appearance on the scene of aviation.
To all our friends, thanks for the cards.  They are fun to receive.  We hope you had a great 2012 and that you have an even better 2013.



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