May 5th 2002

Hi Vincent,

    I'm Joe. I'm in the 3rd grade and I live in Vermont. My two favorite sports are football and kickball. I'm a good painter and sketcher like you. My two best friends are Justin and Andrew. I have a sister Kristina. I have a dad named John and a mom named Britta.
    I painted a self-portrait just like you , and I used the rule of halves. I did a neat background. I have an Army camp behind me. It's really cool. You can see all the army men and statues. I didn't want to smile in my portrait. I thought it would look stupid. I was feeling good when I had my digital picture taken for this project. I used it to draw and to paint my portrait, just  like you used a mirror. I have on a World War II hat and real army clothes in this portrait because I want to be a fighter pilot when I am 18. I have a G.I. Joe doll in my hand, too. I think my portrait is cool. I wish you were here to see it.
    I think that you are an awesome artist and you are really cool.  When I go to New  York I'm going to go to a museum to see some of your paintings. I'm excited about going because I like your art work.

Sincerely,

Joseph