With a Quack Quack Here and a Quack Quack There...

A few years ago we were in Boston for one day.  You'd think that I would have looked for a hotel near the airport, but no.  I wanted a hotel near the Public Garden because there was really only one thing in Boston that I wanted to see.

Just a short walk across the park, and there she was...
Mrs. Mallard with her little ones:
Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Oack, Pack, and Quack!

Happy, happy Helen!

And there was even a real Mr. & Mrs. Mallard with babies!

A book just as sweet today as it was when it was written in 1941.

Big Mrs. Mallard followed by her 8 littles.

I painted this one in response to my weekly-ish art challenge which was "Big & Little" this time. 

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 24" Wrapped Canvas

Click "With a Quack Quack Here..." if you'd like to purchase this painting.

Feeding Ducks with Dad-Dad

Oh, how I love an image that tells a story! 

I could explain what's going on here, but would I do that? 

There's no need to see her grin or hear her squeals to know to know she's delighted.

I don't think she's the only one who's delighted.  So is her great grand father.  And, probably the ducks are too!!

My friend Michelle sent me an old photo that she'd come across and asked me if I'd paint it.  Of course I loved it immediately!  It's exactly my kind of image... one that tells a story.

I actually know that little girl; she has a little girl about that size of her own now. However, I asked Michelle to tell me about the man. She said it was her grandfather who they called Dad-Dad. She said, "He would put those coveralls on after work.  He loved to garden and most important to spend time with his grands and greats.  When I struggled in Spanish, he got some tapes and learned along with me.  He was so amazing!" 

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16"

[SOLD]

That's Just Ducky!

Don't you just want to listen in on their conversation!!

• Bottom Right just asked a simple question.
• Middle can't believe she'd even ask such a thing!
• Front Left agrees with everything Middle says.
• Top Right does not want to get involved this time!
• Back Left is late to the meeting... again!

The image of these ducks deep in conversation has made me chuckle since I first saw it. 

I "met" these particular ducks inside a blog called Chickens in the Road. They lived on a farm in West Virginia along with lots of chickens, some goats, a few sheep, dogs, cats, a couple of donkeys, a milk cow, and a farmer named Suzanne.

In the days after I broke the two lower bones in my right arm, I had a lot... really a lot... of time that I couldn't do much of anything but click and scroll with my left hand and read on the computer.  That may sound dreadful, but during those days I got to thoroughly enjoy every bit of Chickens in the Road from the early posts of 2005 to the recent ones of 2019. 


I suppose I don't know any ducks personally, but oh, how I have always loved Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, Quack, and of course, Mr. & Mrs. Mallard!

Make Way for Ducklings was written over 75 years ago, but I have a feeling that my grandchildren will love it as much as my kids did and as much as I did... still do!

A few years ago, we'd been on a trip and were to fly home from the Boston airport. We had allowed ourselves one extra day there, but I'm such a not-city person. I'm sure there are dozens of museums, historical monuments, and not-to-be-missed sights to see.  But, there was only one place that I wanted to go... Boston Public Garden.  

I might have cried a little when I saw Mrs. Mallard and her 8 ducklings.

Even the Swan Boat was there!

I might have cried again to see a real Mrs. Mallard with her ducklings.

Ducks just make me smile... well, and cry... but mostly smile. 😊

Thank you to Suzanne McMinn of  Chickens in the Road for letting me use her photo as a reference for this painting.

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Mallards

Have you ever had a wild pet?

When I was a kid we had a lake on our farm.  (You can see a view of it in Lake at Nunnely)  One year a pair of mallards made their home there.  We named them Patsy and Bill.

This couple was part of a community of ducks that live on the river behind the Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  They're used to tourists and completely ignored me as I snapped their pictures.

It just doesn't seem fair that the the daddy duck gets to be so beautiful; however, I think the mama is lovely in her own way. 

Original Oil Painting on 6" x 12" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Little Fisherman

What is a triptych?


I always wanted to try one of these three-paneled paintings.One of the hardest parts for me was choosing a picture that would work.  


This little fisherman has been the star of several of my paintings.  He was also in "Honk!" and in "Hello, Butterfly!"

Original Oil Painting on 6x12, 9x12, 6x12 Wrapped Canvases
[SOLD]

Jansen Park

I saw this little bridge in the park every week as I was growing up. It was a sort of boundary, "Don't go past the bridge!" I never noticed how lovely it was until going back years later.

I thought that would be the end of the story for this painting. But after it was finished, my niece saw it and said, "That's Duck!" One year her husband brought her a little duckling for Easter. Duck became fast friends with their poodle, but after a while Duck needed a better home. They got permission to move him to the park. (He's the white one in the painting.)

Original Oil Painting on 16"x 20" on Canvas Board, Framed.

[SOLD]

Honk!

What is this little guy thinking?

What are these geese thinking?

Is it a confrontation or a game?

Are they interested or annoyed?

I like to think that they're just getting to know each other. Maybe the geese are teaching the little guy a few goose words. I want to believe that they even understand each other for those few magical minutes.

I love the process of painting.

First comes choosing the subject. For me it has to be an image that stands alone to tell a story. That's followed by deciding on the best canvas size, drawing in a few key shapes, and blocking in some color. Like most kids, paintings have to go through an ugly stage. Maybe this is when they (both the kids and the paintings) need the most love! I do love that ugly stage. I've learned to trust that eventually blobs of color will take shape and empty spots on the canvas will become forms. The frustrating part comes when it seems right, but there's just something not right. For a second opinion, I hold it up to a mirror... oh, the shadows are missing or going the wrong way! Or, I look at a photograph of it on a computer screen... oh, there are no highlights! Or, I show it to my painting mentor... oh, yeah, the edges are too harsh! Finally it just needs to be left alone and not looked at. I think that's when the painting fairies sneak in and... voila...

The funny thing for me is that once a painting is finished and I've given the satisfied sigh... I'm over it and ready to move on. I'm ready to sell it or give to some who wants to enjoy it. I want to have an excellent product, but it's the process that I crave more of.

"Honk!" has been a little different, however. I still love looking at it and imagining what was going through the little minds of that little boy and that gaggle of geese!

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 16" Canvas
[SOLD]