This painting is part of my "Roadside Attractions" series that I have been working on for over a year. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when my dad rescued me from school one day and took me to my first circus. I remember every second of that day inside the Clyde Beatty - Cole Brothers Circus. The sight of enormous canvas tents in an open field mesmorized me. The aroma of circus tigers, elephants and popcorn mixed in with fresh sawdust stirred me up. The aerial performers, costumed clowns and the sound of the live circus band pretty much did it for my impressionable self - I was hooked!
After my tenth birthday, I decided to perform a one-man circus act. I loved climbing, swinging and hanging from ropes tied in our backyard trees. In our yard, my dad built a trapeze and a high bar for me. I bought a book on "How to be a Clown." I listened to circus music and I practiced magic tricks which included the family rabbit and dog. During the summer I performed an entire one-man backyard circus act for our neighbors. Now, I swear to God this is true - for the Grand Finale I performed swinging gymnastic gyrations on a burning suspended bicycle ten feet in the air!
"Whoa" was created as a series of three - all a variation of this High Flyer Costumed Bird Performer.
Original 12x12, acrylic on canvas. $625 plus $50 shipping.
No comments:
Post a Comment