Today is the last day of my teaching career. Last week I hugged and said goodbye to my students and today I say goodbye to my fellow teachers. It is a bittersweet feeling, all mixed up with excitement and anticipation of what will come to be in the next few years. My family's genes have not demonstrated living to ripe old ages, and that is one reason why I decided to go ahead and take this monumental leap into retirement. I pray that I made the right decision.
As I painted this piece, my artistic goal was to try something new. I have used gold and silver leaf before, but never in a large painting. "Eye Candy" is unlike my recent paintings, you cannot tell if it is foliage, floral, eyes, or a butterfly. It is none of the above. I hope that whatever the image suggests to you, that it will be beautiful. The gold and silver symbolize my advancing into my "golden years" of retirement.
"Eye Candy" is the first in a series of gold and silver paintings. Watch future posts for new subject matter: koi, crab, seashells, dragonfly and a few turtles. Maybe these paintings require a trip to the beach sometime soon?
Thanks to everyone who commented and gave me advice on whether or not to begin signing my paintings as "Cardinal". I have decided to continue to sign my own signature and to honor my mother's legacy with a series of paintings of cardinals, but that will be a little later on.
Here's to retirement!
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