FrogsAndPandas

I had shoulder surgery in late 2013, noticed the January 2014 issue of Smithsonian magazine with the new Panda on the cover and, although heavily morphinated, said "I can paint pandas." Two days later, two of the Pandas from the Hidden Bamboo Forest of Saint Paul came to my studio, agreed to sit for portraits and tell their stories, IF -- and only IF -- I agreed to keep the location of the Forest a secret. "You bet," I said. In early 2014, a sleuth* of Pandas, and later an army* of Frogs came to my studio for portraits. The Pandas were reluctant story tellers; the Frogs never stopped croaking. (*"Sleuth" and "Army" are the correct collective nouns for pandas and frogs.) Most of the Pandas' original portraits are made from black and white gesso and a collection of acrylic mediums. Most of the Frogs' original portraits are watercolor. There are some Frogs from Hyperspace, whose original portraits were made on TerraSkin, a tree-free paper. Because the paint puddles and dries instead of being absorbed, the result is "Hyperspace." I know. I saw all of those movies. One or two of the Frogs are from the Lost Cave Paintings of Saint Paul