Thursday, February 10, 2011

Sleeping Child with Cherry Blossoms

Almost a year ago I was in Honduras volunteering for an organization called Brighter Horizons.  I was asked to paint a mural on the mission school wall and also help build a cinder block house for a women in need.  Marisa is a single mother with 5 children.  A lovely woman with beautiful children and poor as a church mouse.  When we handed over the keys to her new home I am sure they thought she had died and gone to heaven, it was a wonderful moment for all of us.  I went back to visit the following day and found she had already planted some flowers outside her front door.  I was very impressed because that is something I always do as soon as I can when I move into a new home. Anyways, this pastel is a portrait of her youngest boy, blissfully asleep on a worn out mattress under a cabana of sorts.  He used to follow me around all day, naked as a jay bird, and totally happy with the attention I gave him.   I plan on entering it in  the Haiku Inspirations competition in Vancouver this spring.  I based the composition on the following Haiku by Ferris Gilli.  Comments welcome and hope you enjoy the painting.  I am going to leave it alone for a day or two and see if it speaks to me one way or another.

cherry blossoms
the baby's hair too fine
to hold a ribbon

No comments: