In terms of square inches, it's the largest painting I've posted: 18 by 18 inches (the largest until now has been 16 by 20). It's an oil still life showing an assortment of my personal belongings, including the top of a quilt I sewed together visible behind the fans and under the tiles (yes, one of the fabrics has dragonflies).
I titled this painting "Luck, Chance, Fate". That's especially appropriate since the same day I got this canvas -- the first time I acquired one of this size -- on my way home with it I brought my sister's trash to the transfer station, and in the "Swap Shop" at the dump I found a frame for an 18 inch square picture, free for the taking. It just seemed right for me to scoop it up, since I had the blank canvas in the car with me at the time.
I'm reminded of words attributed to S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1964 to 1984: "An urban society needs two institutions to deal with non-functional objects: the sanitation department and the museum".
The frame may no longer have been functional for the person who disposed of it, but I intend to get some use out of it.
I took this photo of it while it's still on the easel, unframed (the background stuff behind the canvas is just books, furniture, etc., in the room). As usual, I've re-sized the image and adjusted the quality for uploading.
In the words of Rainer Maria Rilke 1875-1926): "And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been."
