I added a new print to the store yesterday. "Portland Rocks" kind of depicts a some of the typical happenings here in the "Rose City"& this corner of the US. I created this illustration for a local magazine article recently, & thought I'd go ahead with a print too. Very colorful & have one hanging in my studio, as well. Only one size right now, but I may offer smaller prints in the near future. This was a fun project. Hope you'll enjoy this one. :)
One of the things I love about small towns are the shops that live & breath on any given Main Street. They're usually little treasures with a lively character behind the counter. Although it didn't quite look like this, Red's did exist in my home town. I can remember hunting through wood boxes of nuts & bolts with my dad, to complete whatever project we had going on at home. Red was really a nice guy. Always there to help with an easy laugh & smile. :)
Dolly is my mom. She doesn't bake anymore & never had a shoppe, but her pies, cakes, & cookies were killer stuff when I was growing up. Her peach pie & its crust was just the greatest. Sure could go for just one more peice mom...great memories. :)
True Story...
When I was a kid, my dad would put the trash out the night before pick up. This worked fine until the raccoons discovered this was a free meal & in the middle of the night they'd knock off the lid to the can & help themselves. This went on for a few weeks, & my dad decide to put a rock on top to keep them out, but...they knocked off the rock & had their meal. So my dad got a bigger rock, then a bigger rock after that, but still they got in. So one day my dad was at the department store & discovered a brand new item on sale in the garden dept..."the Critter Proof" trash can. A thing of beauty, that had latches & straps, & best of all...a guarantee! My dad had found the solution. Bought it, brought it home. Trash day came...he followed all the instructions...secured the capsule & confidently set it out for trash pick up the next morning. He had won! The next morning we were leaving for school & as we looked out towards the street there was trash spread all over the the front lawn. It was as if a bomb went off! Chicken bones, etc...everywhere! The can was no where to be found. The only thing that could be recognized was a portion of the lid with one of the straps still attached. We just stood there in awe of the destruction. Our neighbors smiled & waved as they passed by & saw us standing there amidst the field of rubbish with our mouths agape. My dad took a photo & sent it to the "Critter Proof Can Co." & remarked that their can was no match for our raccoons (a super breed like no other!). I'm sure the company got a good laugh from this & I don't think dad ever got a reply. We did get a good laugh out of it ourselves & it went down in family history as one part of the Great Raccoon saga that had numerous chapters. Life went on...the raccoons had made their point, & we accepted their victory & our sound defeat. I think my dad left the bones on top of the can the next week to finalize the truce. :)
Daily Drawing...I was visiting the east coast over the weekend. It's always good to see that side of the country, but always enjoy coming home to the mountains we have here. I sketched this one out on the plane trip back west. :)