Over the years I have painted, among other things, many ‘orbs’ (decorative steel balls attached to railings and fences atop wood or metal posts) — big ones, small ones, some plain, some fancy. Artist and plumber Jeff Allen used his artistic talents to assemble this one atop a pole, to which he welded pieces of steel with directional signs, lettered by me. It stands just inside the entry to the McMenamins Edgefield hotel property in Troutdale, Oregon.

I decorated the orb and the smaller “satellite orbs” in the comfort of my studio. Once it was welded in place, ten feet off the ground, I was asked to repaint the background with a color that would show up better against the trees. This meant rounding up an eight-​foot-​tall orchard latter and climbing up and down to move it around the whole assemblage.

I am somewhat famous for my fear of heights, yet regularly find myself painting higher off the ground that I am comfortable with. How I would have loved having the “helping hands” I’ve depicted here!