TOM WILLS PRODUCTIONS

Saturday, June 9, 2012

No. 156:Twenty-two snakes

MEGHAN, 2' x 3' June 2012

There are 22 snakes on this dress. Can you find them all? It's tricky. Some got past me!

This was little Meghan.
Now, she is Meghan McCarthy, a McDonald High School Class of 2012 valedictorian, and this drawing is her graduation gift.

The graduate, who is headed to Mount Union College.

She is, among other accomplishments, an Irish step-dancer who has competed in the United States and Ireland.

Click on all photos to enlarge!

She qualified six times to dance at the World Championships of Irish Dance.
At school she also was a member of National Honor Society, and the Varsity Track Team.
She is the daughter of long-time friends Therese and Patrick McCarthy.

But, back to the snakes ...
She need not check her suitcase on the way home from Ireland for snakes on a plane.
It seems there really are no snakes on the island.

An American Girl doll wearing ... snakes!

St. Patrick gets the credit for chasing them into the sea. But research suggests that Ireland never had snakes. They haven't successfully migrated across the open ocean.
"At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish," says naturalist Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

This dress started it all for Meghan, although I can't help but think that snakes on a kid would make her dance faster, just out of fright.

100 percent cute. But mom may have had her dress pinned up. A few snakes are hiding ...

The actual dress. Upon close examination, there actually are 22 entwined snakes. Two on the chest, two on each sleeve, and four on each dress pleat.

So, what's the deal with the snakes?
According to her mother, who is not Irish, Theresa ("Tessie") Burke designed the dress. Burke has had Burke School of Irish Dance since about 1965. Asked about the symbolism, Burke told us it represents that "the trinity never ends.”

Therese McCarthy adds: “Each certified teacher designs their own school dress that is not allowed to be used by any other Irish dance school in the world. I've been told through the years the designs are based on the Book of Kells (the "illuminated" bible from Irish monks back centuries ago. We actually saw it in Trinity College in Dublin) ... The letters are the ornate Celtic drawings.”
Now we know!

The McCarthys already have a sketch of Meghan and her brother Patrick hanging in their home, also from their childhood. I did it years ago and took a picture of it when we visited them today.

Patrick and Meghan, 2001

Their father, who is very Irish, is godfather to my daughter Emily. He has my sketch of the Trumbull County Courthouse in his office at the courthouse, where he is a magistrate. He apparently also has some of my other 25-year-old doodles, most of which are off-color and date from our days as newspaper reporters, and he should burn them.++

Two-thirds finished, I eliminated the number card.


Working out the pattern, looking for snakes.

Congratulations to the family. Now, let's have a party.
(Her brother's turn is next year!)

++ This has been a DAVE Production.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

No. 157: Untitled

UNTITLED NO. 157, June 2012, watercolor.

I finished "Untitled No. 157" at 7 p.m. on a rainy and chilly June 5, 2012, and it shall remain untitled. It took nearly four days, and I'm surprised that it didn't take much longer.

Click on all photos to enlarge.

I am not a painter. This is more of a watercolor drawing. I drew it with colored paints. There were just eight colors: Brown, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and black. I also used a white tint. The trick here was blending the colors together to create the various greens, browns, blues and grays. More water, less water, clean water, dirty water. The color purple never got wet.

There were several moments of panic. I splashed a little paint. Colors ran together alongside the road. The trees were too yellow, then too green, then too blue. A few bold outlines were too bold. The sky looked stormy. All of these hiccups had to be worked over, and over.

The painting needs about eight hours to really dry. It's clamped to the drawing table to keep the paper from curling. The flatter it dries, the better it'll frame. But it can't be completely weighted down; air also has to flow under it.

The painting, in the final analysis, is primitive and even a little sloppy. It's certainly not spot-on accurate. But it has a simplistic charm that, as I write this, I've come to like and accept. It's an original and was a learning experience. If you followed along, I hope it was fun.

Here's how it unfolded:
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I think, by this point, there is no turning back on this road. The grasses are nearly done. The road needs resurfaced, and I'm going to bring out more detail in the trees. And, the sky is now blue.

DAY THREE: p.m.

We're still on the road. I have no idea how our journey will end. I guess we're just gonna roll with it and see what happens along the way.
Watch this space every day, all week. A new image or two will appear each afternoon.
So far I've kept up my end.

Click on each photo to enlarge!

Just add water -- makes it's own sauce!

DAY THREE: Lunch! Now we are going somewhere.

DAY THREE: a.m. Sunrise!

Occasionally an image will catch me off guard. This one is from a photo my brother snapped while motorcycling the rural roads of Michigan. It looked so serene, like the perfect place on the perfect day. I want to be there.

The real deal. Meech Road, Dansville, MI

Beginning to see the forest for the trees.

My tools are ridiculously simple: Crayola watercolors, house paint brushes, plastic Dixie cups, water, light and music.

Blues music, baby.

DAY TWO: p.m.

Every journey has a beginning. When you put one foot in front of the other, you are on the road. Where you go is up to you.

DAY TWO: a.m.

DAY ONE: 6/3/12

Monday, May 28, 2012

No. 155: Angus


ANGUS 155, May 2012. Click on pictures to enlarge.

The cool thing about rock stars is, they don’t have to age if we don’t want them to. Their music and their pictures can freeze them in a time period that can stay a fan’s favorite.

“Yes, we're still five little people with a noisy attitude.” -- Angus Young

This drawing of Angus Young of AC/DC is from a photo from the mid-1970s, during the time of the “Powerage” album. Obviously the show was at a point where most of Angus’ schoolboy uniform had been shed. It’s all sweat, shorts and sneer.

“Style, I didn't think we had any! I just plug in and hit the thing really hard. That's my style... or lack of one!"

He’s wearing a big-ass 1962 Gibson Les Paul SG, almost as big as diminutive Angus himself. Little guy, big sound. High voltage rock and roll. The riffs he and brother Malcolm have kicked out over 40-plus years would build a mountain and then level it.

“We're a rock group. We're noisy, rowdy, sensational and weird.”

Angus is now 57 years old. He still dresses as a schoolboy on stage. He has a net worth of $140 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. It’s a look that still works for him.

Grow up? We all do, at some point, but it’s nice to have a place to go that’s not so cerebral. Consider “Ballbreaker.” “Hard as a Rock.” “Let’s Get It Up.” “Sink the Pink.” “Shake Your Foundations.” “Whole Lotta Rosie.” “You Shook Me All Night Long.”

Theme music for young lust. Even if you are 50-something.