Bugs Bunny & My Paintings
🥕 I had some fun sessions in my studio last week. "Life" has made it difficult for me to keep my early morning painting schedule, and I was beginning to think I'd explode if I didn’t paint soon.
You might say I got “a wild hair.” I went to the studio determined to pick up brushes and splash some paint no matter what the results. I grabbed some 5” x 7” canvases and started in, and these five paintings emerged.
I began to wonder where the phrase “a wild hair” originated. One of several meanings is to have a fervent, usually sudden desire to do something surprising or unexpected (there are some coarser meanings, too!). The internet told me that "A Wild Hare" was the title of a 1940 cartoon where a wise-cracking bunny with a Brooklyn accent made his first appearance. Yes, Bugs Bunny of “What’s Up Doc?” fame. Now there's a real wild hare!
🐇 So if you get "a wild hair/hare" and decide you must have one or more of these special paintings, just click the image to go to my website. I would love to deliver it to you personally!
TOP ROW Things That Fly, James Webb Told Me Your Planet is Delicious,
MIDDLE ROW When Things Were Different, One Bag of Gold for You, Three for Me
BOTTOM ROW Tomorrow I Work on Calves
The Dog in the Orchestra seems to me to be good company for the five paintings above. I painted it after reading a poem from Billy Collins (former U.S. poet laureate). It's from his book, Sailing Alone Around the Room, which is a fun collection of poems. I invite you to read Collin’s funny poem and the inspiration for this painting.
Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House
Billy Collins
The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on their way out.
The neighbors’ dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,
and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.
When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton
while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.
Thanks for looking in. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. And feel free to share a story about one of your own wild hairs/hares!