Six weeks ago I found an old baseball glove in a beat-up cardboard box that also held some old nails and duct tape. I knew the glove had sentimental value for my husband. He had received it when he was a child, and had played baseball with it for years. I reached for my phone.
"You know that old baseball glove?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe it would make a good painting."
"Yeah."
"It would be a challenge, but your birthday is coming up, and maybe I could do it."
"Sure."
I couldn't blame him for his lack of enthusiasm. It's not easy to get excited about a painting that doesn't exist yet.
I worked on it for a while, and toward the end of the painting process, Tom started getting excited. He said it was very cool. We agreed that I would include the old Yankee Stadium with its facade in the background, because that's where he attended baseball games while he was growing up. He turned [censored] years old a few days ago, and the painting is now done. Happy birthday, Tommy.
"You know that old baseball glove?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe it would make a good painting."
"Yeah."
"It would be a challenge, but your birthday is coming up, and maybe I could do it."
"Sure."
I couldn't blame him for his lack of enthusiasm. It's not easy to get excited about a painting that doesn't exist yet.
I worked on it for a while, and toward the end of the painting process, Tom started getting excited. He said it was very cool. We agreed that I would include the old Yankee Stadium with its facade in the background, because that's where he attended baseball games while he was growing up. He turned [censored] years old a few days ago, and the painting is now done. Happy birthday, Tommy.
Roger Maris Baseball Glove, 1961 | 2014 | Oil on Panel | 11" X 14" | Collection of the Artist
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