Throwback Thursday

I have been looking through some of my pictures, in hopes of finding some more for my new "Throwback Thursday" posts. As I was rifling through some stacks, I saw the colorful snapshots below.

I painted these coconuts when we lived in Key West (1998-2001). There were plenty of coconuts on the ground around the island. The Colonel, the kids and I gathered some and I thought they would make great Halloween decorations.

Once they were painted, I placed them in the garden, in my front yard. I liked them so well, I left them there until we moved. By that time, they were sun bleached and peeling. It broke my heart to have to consign them to a garbage bag.

I closely examined the coconuts in each picture. Of course I remember painting them, but I had forgotten how they came out. I was and am very pleased with the end products. I do not want to sound like I am tooting my own horn, but normally artists (especially me) are never completely satisfied with their work. I really like these decorated coconuts (probably why I left them in the garden loooooong after Halloween).

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The Alien: I had eight coconuts to paint and The Colonel asked me to make one an alien. Its eyes were not so empty (and scary) looking once I added little dots of white to them.

The Devil: This coconut was an homage to a Halloween mask of my youth. Everyone around my age (50-something), wore the plastic masks to go Trick-or-Treating. Remember the smell of the plastic?

Image from the Internet

The Mummy and The Skull: Because you have to have a mummy and a skull for Halloween (I think it is the law).

Frankenstein's Monster: Well, if you have The Mummy you definitely must have Frankenstein's Monster too. I like the way I painted his eyes...makes him look slow-witted or maybe just sleepy.

Quasimodo: Disney's movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, came out in 1996. Yam, always the Disney fan, asked me to paint one coconut like Quasimodo. I think I did a pretty decent job.

Image from the Internet

The Pirate: Living on Key West, I had to paint a pirate coconut. There is a Pirate's Well on the island after all.

The Parrot: If you have a pirate he must have his parrot. I like the way I painted his thousand-yard stare. He must have gotten that from witnessing all of the piratical activities while perched on his pirate's shoulder.

I will be perusing more pictures from the past...stay tuned!