Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Gum Balls

Acrylic on gessoed hardboard
5 3/8 x 3 5/8'' (13,7 x 9,3 cm)
2010 - #188

Growing up in rural New Brunswick, there was a tiny convenience store about ¼ mile from our house that had a red gumball machine. Inside the glass globe was not only bubble gums, but tiny charms & trinkets that were sparsely inserted. Kids at school would sometime give me their pennies so I could buy them gumballs, but what they really wanted were the charms. This one time, the prettiest girl in my class (and of the whole school as far as I was concerned) gave me a whole quarter. Can you imagine the look on my face when the ''red puffy heart'' inscribed ''I Love You'' dropped into my hand? She was also the girl whom I gave my prettiest Valentine on February 14.


Once I started doing the drawing for this mini painting, I realized that a lot of the gumballs were not exactly round. Also that because of their glossy finish and the light, the colors bounce off each other. I somehow wishes the gumballs would have been more defined, but I painted them as they were behind the glass. This painting will be included in the Christmas exhibition of Handworks Gallery in Saint John, NB.


-SOLD