Tall Shadows

Just completed this small painting for the cafe in our church. We have a little display area that features coffee mugs from countries where we've done mission work, and we've asked some of our members to contribute paintings to place behind them.

Mine is called "Tall Shadows," and depicts a scene that I photographed while in West Africa in 2011: an older woman and a young boy who were sitting in our camp area, watching as our team visited with villagers, who were talking at left, out of the picture.

I love how the boy holds a can of chips (there probably weren't any left) as if it were a treasure. The woman is wearing colorful, traditional clothing, and seems to be concentrating hard to hear and understand the conversation. I remember the heat, the hard ground (slept in tents), the meals of rice with meat served in common bowls, and the wonderful people who treated us like royalty. I remember the long, long walks to visit other villages, the weight of two cameras around my neck, and the children who trotted alongside us, offering to help carry them because they could see I was in pain!





"Tall Shadows"
Oil on canvas
9" x 12"

Prints available, contact me.



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