“Water Wings”

30”x48”     Acrylic     Gallery Wrapped Canvas

My idea for this painting came from how much fun I had as a kid setting up scenarios for play. I would gather things from all over the house to be used for the various items in the scene. In this imaginary lake scene, I’ve used a beach towel for the water, torn paper bags for the sand, a piece of cloth for the land, pebbles for the rocks by the shore, salt and pepper shakers for the cabin, a Christmas ornament for the airstream trailer, beads and yarn to mark the swimming area, trees from a model train set, blocks for the dock, and all kinds of “lakey” toys to put in the water. The float plane is a vintage toy, found at an antique shop. I like to think about where it’s been played with…maybe on lakes in Minnesota, maybe in salt water on one coast or the other, or maybe just in a backyard pool. For sure it has captured the imagination of many a would-be pilot like it captured my imagination. I would love to know how to fly a float plane and be looking down on a Minnesota lake after just taking off, or doing a fly-by to check out landing spots. How dull life would be without imagination!

Ducks in a Row

Acrylic    16"x40"    Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I found this little vintage toy in an antique shop and knew, immediately, that I wanted to paint it. After a few months, I finally decided to take a “quack” at it. Meanwhile, no matter what shelf I put it on, the one little guy always seemed to be looking at me. I tried to capture his expression, but I'll leave it up to the viewer to decide what message he's trying to convey. I had fun playing with the idea of having all your "ducks in a row" by dropping more hints about the title throughout the painting.