Eve’s Insatiable Hunger
The Giraffe and the Owl
Aesop’s The Rooster and the Jewel
Aesop’s The Rooster and the Jewel
Childrens Books and Stories, Illustrations, Watercolors
Aesop’s The Rooster and the Jewel
cock, scratching the ground for something to eat, turned up a jewel that had once been dropped there. “Ho”, said he, “a fine thing you are, no doubt, and, had your owner found you, great would his joy have been. But for me, give me a single grain of corn before all the jewels in the world.”
This Aesop’s fable, though more popularly illustrated and told in medieval Europe, hit a cord in me. I find the theme very thought provoking and applicable to a modern audience. What one may find important, others may not. A modern ideal may be to find oneself surrounded by all one’s favorite things or pine for the things one wants, when the truth may be that those things that are truly needed are forgotten or overlooked. Even the cocky rooster on the dunghill seems to know that worth is not determined by how badly something is desired, but by how much it is needed.
The painting is purely watercolor painted with both wet and “drybrush” technique. It is one half of a diptych, the other being Aesop’s Lion and the Mouse. The two are meant to hang vertically with the Rooster on the left and the Lion on the right. The color schemes are purposefully linked.
Watercolor on Windsor Newton cold press (signed and numbered prints available)
Aesop’s the Lion and the Fox
Aesop’s the Lion and the Fox
Childrens Books and Stories, Illustrations, Watercolors
lion that had grown too old and weak to hunt pretended to be sick as a ruse to make the other animals come and pay their respects. When they did so, he ate them one by one. The fox also came to see him but greeted him from outside the cave. When the lion asked the fox why he did not come in the cave to visit, the fox replied, “Because I can only see the tracks going in, but none coming out.”
I have always found the morality tales that involve foxes very interesting. Foxes have been made to be sly and clever, but also arrogant or foolhardy. Applying anthropomorphic traits to the fox allows the reader to judge humanity and its less than honorable traits without judging oneself or others too harshly. The fox has become a common stand in for conniving and deceitful characters, but can also represent a cunning and calculating persona. He is a reliable character to illustrate because of all the traits that we have come to assume the fox possesses.
Here, the fox is wary of the danger that the lion presents to him. He knows that it is easier to avoid the danger than it is to get out of its grip. Sometimes weighing the costs of a decision and evaluating your options is in your best interest.
This painting is entirely done with watercolors. I used both wet and “drybrush” techniques and applied the use of salt in the creation of starburst patterns in the lichen on the stones.
Aesop’s the Lion and the Mouse
Aesop’s the Lion and the Mouse
Childrens Books and Stories, Illustrations, Watercolors
nce when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. “Pardon, O King,” cried the little Mouse: “forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?” The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. “Was I not right?” said the little Mouse.
Little friends may prove great friends.
This fable is immediately recognizable to any fan of Aesop. The great lion is forced to ask for help from the smallest of creatures. It forces us to confront our own preconceived notions of who or what is weak or powerful. Great strength comes in unexpected places and from unexpected people, and we shouldn’t be so quick to decide how we expect to receive either. I have always appreciated the story and love the idea that greatness and kindness can be found within us all.
This painting is purely watercolor. I used both wet and “drybrush” technique. […]
The Musicians of Bremen
The Musicians of Bremen
Childrens Books and Stories, Illustrations, Watercolors
he Musicians of Bremen is the story of a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster, all past their prime years in life and usefulness on their respective farms, were soon to be discarded or mistreated by their masters. One by one they leave their homes and set out together. They decide to go to Bremen, known for its freedom, to live without owners and become musicians there. (“Something better than death we can find anywhere.”)
This illustration is of a hopeful moment in which the foursome make their way down the road toward their fortune, leaving their pasts behind them. I have always loved this story. The themes of fighting back against the drudgery of daily life that ages us all and strength in unity carry weight and reinforce the need in all of us to never give up. Children read in this story that a difficult task can be made easier with the support and help of others that care about you. Stories that teach and motivate have always inspired me.
Watercolor on Windsor Newton cold press (signed and numbered prints available)
Puss in Boots
Puss in Boots
Childrens Books and Stories, Illustrations, Watercolors
” you will follow my advice your fortune is made. You have nothing else to do but go and wash yourself in the river, in that part I shall show you, and leave the rest to me.”
The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowing why or wherefore. While he was washing the King passed by, and the Cat began to cry out:
“Help! help! My Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned.”
At this noise the King put his head out of the coach- window, and, finding it was the Cat who had so often brought him such good game, he commanded his guards to run immediately to the assistance of his Lordship the Marquis of Carabas. While they were drawing the poor Marquis out of the river, the Cat came up to the coach and told the King that, while his master was washing, there came by some rogues, who went off with his clothes, though he had cried out: “Thieves! thieves!” several times, as loud as he could.
“Master Cat; or, The Booted Cat” (early French: Le Maître Chat, ou Le Chat Botté), commonly known as “Puss in Boots”, is a French literary fairy tale about a cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for his penniless and low-born master. The tale was written at the close of the seventeenth century by Charles Perrault (1628–1703), a retired civil servant and member of the Académie française. The tale appeared in a handwritten and illustrated manuscript two years before its 1697 publication by Barbin in a collection of eight fairy tales by […]
St John the Baptist Wore Fake Crocs
St John the Baptist Wore Fake Crocs
Classic Footwear, Illustrations, Watercolors
hen Leonardo died his possessions were pitifully few. He had three of his paintings, the Mona Lisa, the Virgin and St. Anne and his final painting, that of St. John the Baptist. This painting dates from his final years in Rome, around 1509-1516.
Many people are critical of this work by DaVinci, finding it a disturbing representation of a character normally portrayed as gaunt and fiery, living in a desert and surviving on a diet of locusts and honey. In Leonardo’s painting St. John seems almost to be a hermaphrodite. He has a womanish arm bent across his breast, his finger raised towards heaven, and that same enigmatic smile so admired on the face of Mona Lisa, a smile which can be seen in other Leonardo paintings like that of St. Anne. His face is almost faun-like and framed by a glorious cascade of curls. The finger pointed towards heaven was to appear quite often in Leonardo’s work (the Burlington House cartoon is another example) and denotes the coming of Christ.
I first saw this painting when I visited the Louvre, in Paris. It hung near the Madonna of the Rocks, another of my DaVinci favorites, and was nearly impossible to get a good look at. The painting is so dark that making out detail was very difficult. But even with the glare on the protective glass, the glossy oil, and the dark, possibly dirty painting surface, John the Baptist’s gaze was captivating and impossible to ignore. The standard portrayal of John the Baptist as an older man with fur hides wrapped around him and a heavy wooden walking stick was absent here. This was a young androgynous man, with beautiful ringlets in his hair and a […]
You’d Smile Too…
You’d Smile Too…
Classic Footwear, Illustrations, Watercolors
he Mona Lisa (La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo) is a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, which has been acclaimed as “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world.”
That perfect moment of seeing the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile for the first time was awe-inspring for me. The perfection of her taut skin, the beautiful details on her bodice, the sheer veil over her parted hair…it was all overwhelmingly fascinating to me. She has become such a common sight to most modern eyes, but her beauty could not be paled by her familiarity. Even being forced to stand at least 15 feet from the painting and having to force my way through the crowd to get a closer look at her from all angles, I loved the sight of her. La Joconde is still my favorite painting.
I recreated DaVinci’s painting entirely in watercolor. The paint was applied in thin transparent layers to create depth of color. Although the sky is much greener than the original, it was done purposefully to stress the red of her shoes. She is one of four paintings in my “shoe series.” Now we can all know what’s been on her on her mind for 500 years. The examination of her enigmatic smile has come to an end…
Watercolor on Windsor Newton Cold Press (signed and numbered prints available)
Michelangelo’s David O’Brien
Michelangelo’s David O’Brien
Illustrations, Watercolors
avid is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. The marble statue of a standing male nude is a favored subject in the art of Florence. Since its unveiling in 1504, David has become an iconic statue, instantly recognized around the world and attracting millions of tourists every year.
I will never forget my visit to the Academia in Florence, Italy, where Michelangelo’s David stands upon his marble base. The image of his physique and the indelible mark that Michelangelo’s skills have left upon me will never fade. What struck me on my visit to Italy, whether it be Rome, Florence, Venice, or any other city, was the incredibly odd nature of the tourist trade. The country’s priceless statues and works of art have been re-imagined in the most ludicrous ways. The Trevi Fountain is sold as pencil sharpener or a beach towel. The Sistine Chapel is printed on a shower curtain or The Laocoon is for sale as an umbrella stand. And not to be outdone, the David statue, in Florence, can be bought as an image on an apron with the Italian colors behind him. I could not resist the absurdity and created my own image with David’s likeness. The Irish tourist, in the flesh, would pose in the exact posture as Michelangelo’s David wearing the apron. He would appear nude, but would not actually expose himself to the viewer by means of the apron. No man could hope to equal the grace and perfection of the actual statue, anyway, in my opinion…
Watercolor on Windsor Newton cold press (signed and numbered prints available)