I started this one as a project for my kids. but in the end the piece has as much to do with my childhood as anything else.
We had an old Fisher-Price toy train, the HuffyPuffy 999, that made it's way through four older brothers to me and my twin brother. Those old wooden toys could take a lot of lovin' abuse!
We also had a pet monkey. Jimmy stuck around for a few years before excaping into an excruciatingly beautiful spring day, never to be seen by us again--though the Wibel's discovered it hiding out in their barn later that summer. Unable to coaxed into their farmhouse, he ran off into the fields.
Minnesota is a long way from South America, and I don't give good odds to a Squirrel Monkey making it through midwestern winters. Though growing up, I half-hoped to discover some tiny log cabin in the woods. Real tiny. monkey sized.
Jimmy, wherever you are, God bless.
I'm a sucker for long, landscape formats. So the preview might be a little small. I've included a few close ups to pad out this post! The left side of the composition is fairly empty. I wanted to convey a sense of open possibilities. I'd love to get feedback, so have at it.
right side:

middle:

left:

>> Hi resolution image <<