The Storyteller, acrylic on canvas, 2003
- Brenda E. Shook, Artist
- Sep 26, 2017
- 2 min read
THE STORYTELLER
My nephew, Ethan, was born in April 2002 near the end of my first year teaching (secondary) art. I was so excited when I found out he was coming! I knew I had to to make art for him. I wanted to do something special for his nursery, but the type of art I usually did then was mixed media narrative portraits and figures not geared to babies and young children.
I wondered how I could come up with a story, unlike anything I had done before, a little boy might like in his room as he grew. One day, I was walking through my house and noticed a garden statue of three frogs (a gift from my mom that had not made it to the garden yet) sitting together in the "see, hear, speak no evil" pose. Inspiration hit! I did not focus so much on the original message of the group of frogs, but, instead, on the frogs' poses and how they could be portrayed as sharing a funny story together.
In and around teaching, I painted two frogs having fun together as if they had the human ability to tell a story and laugh about it. They sit on the bank of a pond and share their humorous story (I wonder what it is about?) with a swimming turtle in a natural setting surrounded by insects and leafy plants. It is fun and sweet--and, best of all, Ethan seemed to like it.
I never would have considered painting this scene if not for Ethan, but it is a favorite painting I have done. He kept it on his wall for several years until he eventually out grew it. I have it on my wall now.
COPYRIGHT
These artworks are my creations. Please do not use them without my permission. Thank you.
Comments