Uganda

I was asked to paint a story that happened in Uganda. I have some old friends who are serving a mission right now in Uganda, currently in the Congolese area. They took picture after picture of the people they served, and I was astounded how beautiful they are. I don't think I did them justice--I will have to keep trying.

In this story, some American businessmen build a children's facility for the Ugandan people. They have to run to the store for some handsaws. In Uganda, the foreigners are called "Mazungu," and it was common practice to overcharge them at the shops because they didn't know any better. This shopkeeper, however, told the men, “I see with my eyes a mazungu, but in my heart, that’s not what I see,” and she charged them a fair price.

Silas Marner's Second Chance

These two paintings are about Silas Marner, the main character of a novel by that name by George Eliot, who was actually a woman writer, if you weren't aware, which I'm sure you were.

Anyway, it is about his second chance at life. The first is a painting depicting his love of gold, because it was his only friend after feeling abandoned and alone from humanity. After it is stolen, he goes into a deep depression.

The second painting is when little Eppie comes into his life, with her golden hair reminding him of his gold coins that he loved. He eventually turns around and loves another person again.

I was so grateful to my friend Trilea for letting me use her daughter for Eppie--isn't she beautiful? And her grandpa got to be Silas. He actually played Johannes Brahms over a year ago for my charcoal drawings--did you recognize him?