Tuesday, May 24, 2016

"Toto Too", my entry for May's 'Pet Animals' Nibblefest Theme





New artwork...!



"Toto Too", 5x7 wood oval plaque






Oh, how the months do roll on.  We find ourselves here in May and at yet another Nibblefest Art Contest week.  May's theme is "Pet Animals".  Well, I certainly adore animals of all ilk -- pets or otherwise.  I am especially devoted to my own dear, sweet wee pet -- a very much cherished and doted upon 27-year-old geriatric cockatiel (a feathered 'baby' by the name of Pierre).  Even so, I still can't say as a theme it was giving me great sparks of inspiration at first.  After tossing around a few lackluster ideas, only to boringly reject them, a good friend pitched several promising suggestions, including one that I finally felt I could really run with.   Because honestly,  who doesn't adore that darling, courageous Cairn Terrier of the film classic, The Wizard of Oz....?  

And so we have here a wee piece painted in loving tribute the spunky puppy-whupple, Toto, and his loving mistress, Dorothy Gale. 



Side view, showing painted Rainbow



Painted in oils, I used a 2nd-hand, oval wooden plaque that I already had on hand to recycle for this project.  I really liked the oval outline to work with, because it was the perfect shape for including Dorothy's Rainbow, painted along and following the sides of the plaque...:




"Somewhere Over the Rainbow...."



Side view....:



Close up




And so, if I was going to include a Rainbow..., I guess I figured I should also include two other highly iconic elements of the Oz tale:  A Tornado, and the Yellow Brick Road (as seen in Dorothy's background)....


"Toto Too" for the theme "Pet Animals"



Now, being as that I was recycling this plaque (which originally had a small cluster of tole-painted daisies on it), I found it interesting how the original owner had herself recycled a pop can tab to fashion some hanging hardware on the back.  Highly functional, so I left it alone -- and heck, might even start doing this myself  (if I can get my hands on a supply of used pop can tabs that is --  being as that we're non-pop drinkers!)....:  



Back, showing the existing pop-can-tab hanging hardware.  Clever!


In any case, the film Wizard of Oz does hold such a fond place in my heart.  In my youth, before the magic of of the internet, or heck, even VCR players, The Wizard of Oz would only broadcast on TV once a year.  As I recall it was always on Easter.  My siblings and I would count the days..., then on The Day it was to air, we would count the hours, and then the minutes...!  So, so much excitement in our house over 'just' a movie.  Those were the days!




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"Toto, Too" won First Place in May's Nibblefest Art Contest!  Thanks to all my lovely bidders...!  

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