It's been a while since I've done a blog post, although I've composed a number of them in my mind. But somehow, they just didn't get written. Since the last time, we've lost one of our fur-family and even though he was an older dog and not in good health, it is never easy to say goodbye to a loved one. In the wake of that, I've found myself with a decided lack of energy and a tendency to feel not quite up to par, although that's improving steadily.
Maybe that's why I've been thinking in very gentle images these past few weeks. With Halloween coming up, that can be difficult, because everywhere you look, you see goth and gore and horror movies/costumes. I started to think back to when I was a kid. Halloween was fun, spooky, and silly, and a that's where the emphasis lay. People decorated with pumpkins, jolly or fierce, with maybe a ghost or two blowing from a tree. Dry leaves skittering down the street, a cold, sneaky wind blowing down your neck, and pumpkin-light were the main spooky effects. Costumes ran the gamut from little witches, princesses, pirates, and cowboys/girls to polite vampires, skeletons and ghosts. Boys and girls had wonderful costumes (mostly Mom-made) to match interests or fantasies that did not include chain-saw murders. Makes me wish we could bring back more of the fun of the occasion instead of focusing so much on the darker side of things.
With these things in mind, my new painting is based on a memory of going Trick-Or-Treating with my dog. It is an 11 x 14 watercolor on Arches Hot Press. I love the porch-light and pumpkin-light shining out of this one, and the body language of the Sheltie. "The things I do for my kid!" EXPECTATIONS is an original watercolor and is available at $400.
