Happy New Year!

As the sun sets tonight, there is the promise of a new day and a new year. I wish you all a Happy & Healthy New Year and hope you enjoy this video of Scotland's gem, Eddi Reader singing the traditional end of year song "Auld Lang Syne". Be safe, fill your hearts with love, grow something this coming year, respect and nourish the soil and it will nourish you, reach out to someone in need and pray for peace.

Merry Christmas!

"After the Storm", Gregory Dunham Watercolor, 21x41", 2008, Private Collection

After the Storm, Christmas Day

Out on the river,

snow covers a thin layer of ice.

Clouds lift, skies brighten,

sounds are muffled as day begins,

transformed by a blanket of white.

Even birds are waiting

for the wind to stop,

as small drifts form waves.

The house is like a ship

anchored on a sea of white.

After the storm, the fields

are silent, no footprints yet.

Deer are resting among

islands of hedgerows and fence lines,

landmarks in a sea of white.

Slowly, the house awakens,

warmed by red oak and birch.

Down in the kitchen, coffee is on,

Christmas magic inside and out,

transformed by a blanket of white.

Though I in no way consider myself a poet, I was inspired to write the preceding poem to go along with the mood in my painting.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May you experience the magic of love, the warmth of family & friends, peace both within and without, and a sense of joy, wonder, hope & fulfillment, as the season turns and the light slowly begins its return.

You can see a larger image of the above watercolor at my web site: Gregory Dunham Watercolors a Christmas Card

The Story of a Drawing and the Passing of Time: from the Real, to a Drawing, to the Real

The Story of a Drawing and a Knitted Hat

The Hat, 1976, Graphite Drawing by Gregory Dunham, Private Collection

Paris 1970

Nearly 41 years ago, on an extended stay in Paris during the winter of 1970, besides the outdoor produce markets, one of my favorite spots to visit was the Jardin du Luxembourg. I loved to watch the children sailing their pond boats, the kids on the carousel reaching for the ring with their sticks, old gentlemen playing boules, young mothers and nannies pushing strollers, lovers walking arm in arm and the many people on benches watching, reading or eating. They were all a wealth of material for future paintings. On one such excursion I noticed a young boy riding a pedal cart, wearing a knit cap and scarf with an elephant design.

Little Boy in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris 1970, Gregory Dunham photograph

I took a photo of him and stored the memory away in my mind, till six years later, in 1976, when I did a graphite drawing and a watercolor of the little boy in his hat. Both the drawing and the watercolor sold from a show I had that year at the Guild of Boston Artists.

Now the most interesting part of the story begins. Ten years later in 1986, we learned we were about to have a son, whom we would name Stow after my friend and mentor Stow Wengenroth. Giving thought to a birth announcement, I suggested we use my drawing of the young boy from ten years earlier. Unfortunately, I had no photographic record of the drawing or the watercolor, but I was able to contact the buyer of the drawing and she agreed to let me borrow it back for the announcement. Sadly, I was unable to keep track of the collector who purchased the watercolor and as a result do not know its whereabouts.

As the story continues, two years later, after the arrival of our daughter Abby some friends held a baby shower for us. One of our friends had had a hat, similar to the one on the announcement, originally worn by the little boy in Paris, knit as a gift for Stow. When we placed it on his head we were struck by the resemblance to my drawing and to the Parisian boy from nineteen years earlier.

Stow in "The Hat", 1989, Gregory Dunham Photo

Detail: Little Boy in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris 1970, Gregory Dunham photograph

I'll end my story of the passage of time from the real, to a drawing, to the real here. Stow turned 24 this year. The drawing is 34 years old and the little Parisian boy is probably about 43 by now and for all I know may have a little boy of his own wearing a similar hat.