Riding the Toy Train (Painting)

Riding the Toy Train (Painting) Originally uploaded by randubnick

This is a painting that I did for my cousin some years ago. It is now hanging in her house in Denver, and when I was there recently, I photographed it with my digital camera. (The light was a bit too dim, and there is a little bit of reflection in the image, but basically this photo shows what the painting looks like.) I painted this in the 1990's, not too long after my dad died. It is an interpretation of the black and white photograph posted yesterday, taken by my uncle Ike, and I consider this a collaborative piece. He was a terrific photographer! The painting is done on paper with acrylics used as water media paint. (I did a series of such paintings based on 1940's and 1950's family photos.) I wasn't going for photo-realism here, but wanted to capture the feeling of the image, the happiness of the memory. The colors are evented and I didn't go with realistic colors; I chose the sweet, bright, candy-colors of nostalgia.