Description
“This Ain’t No China Cabinet” holds a massive place in my artistic timeline—it is the 2nd piece I ever painted for my children’s book, *Wackadoodle the Poodle*. This was the exact canvas where I first came up with the idea to use my finished paintings as backdrops and superimpose my black-and-white character illustrations right on top.
The painting captures a raw, gritty bull standing right in the middle of a dark urban alleyway next to a dumpster tagged with “BEER” graffiti. It was a raw, challenging piece to bring to life. I even sculpted my hair into the shape of Wackadoodle directly on the canvas and into the thick paint layers on the dumpster.
There is a crazy backstory to this one, too. I was working as a cleaner at the time, and the clients ended up firing me the next day despite working for them for a few years, because they simply didn’t want a cleaner who also did fine art. Many years later, when I was well on my path of doing just art, I ran into their older daughter. I told her that looking back in hindsight, I actually found the whole thing flattering. She looked at me and said, “That can’t be true.” Ironically, despite being the foundational catalyst for the entire project, this specific canvas never made it into the final book. It stands as a powerful testament to how a piece of art can spark a whole new journey, even if it writes its own destiny outside the pages.