Sometime in the last few years during time spent in New York, renowned multi-disciplinary painter James Picard commenced a series of watercolour paintings he would eventually entitle "The Cocktail Series". Inspired in part by the variety of characters always available to view in that most cosmopolitan of cities, and by exposure to many people within the context of cocktail parties, socials, and soirees, Picard began a collection of impressions that at once embody a virtually limitless range of human emotion and expression. The series is tied together by a common thread of medium and colour, but the subjects themselves are perfectly unique, reflecting the humanity they portray. Fans and friends of Picard who were privileged to see the collection unfold, inquired about the possibility of seeing a show featuring the paintings, but Picard was holding out for the right environment, which had not yet revealed itself. A chance meeting in December...