Our third child, our first boy, was born on the tenth anniversary of the day my husband and I met. It was also Father’s day. But on our boy’s eighth birthday, our beloved dog, Calvin Von Rynbrandt, died after fighting a rare tick disease for two weeks. Our poor son hasn’t enjoyed a birthday since. Calvin was his best buddy. That neurotic Weimaraner had the sweetest temperament and was the best snuggler of all time. Calvin is continually missed and our hearts have never fully healed.
Last night, our son came into my little studio. He wanted to talk about Calvin as his birthday is again approaching on June 20th. He is dreading the day, poor thing. Imagine turning 12 and feeling nothing but an aching, constant loss.
So while he was with me, I began to paint a large piece for him. As I laid down paint, A storyline came to me—I imagined a Weineraner named Calvin, his boy who was turned into a billygoat by a wicked warlock, a flightless aging dragon with an unusually long and jagged tail, and a free-spirited flying-type dragon who was tiring of his temperamental owner (the warlock). I am not sure where the story is going but it seemed to interest my boy and it seems that my creative juices were really flowing last night. Given, the painting is not the statement piece that I’d intended when I started on this canvas, but perhaps I needed to let my childlike side enjoy a little fiction with our son.
I’m not sure that my son will want this piece and quite honestly, I generally don’t paint fictitious subjects, but I suppose this piece is showing promise nonetheless. If you know anyone looking for an idea for a children’s book and some illustrations, please send them my way…
