ACRYLIC on gallery wrapped canvas, size 18x18 $350
For purchase inquiries, paintedpaperbyholly@yahoo.com
Now that my oldest daughter is pre-teen with feet larger than mine, I adore these shoes of hers as a reminder of just how little she used to be. They're from GAP kids and she wore these all the time when she was just two. I wanted to get them bronzed, but I don't want to lose the charm of the pink (which she won't even wear now!). Painted onto gallery wrapped 18x18 canvas for the Natick Artists Open Studios SHOE PROJECT this September.
When she is older and is staring at her own kids, I hope to hand her this:
I loved you enoughI loved you enough to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to insist that you save your money and buy a bike for yourself even though we could afford to buy one for you.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you take a Milky Way back to the drugstore (with a bite out of it) and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and want to pay for it."
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that would have taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say NO when I knew you would hate me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
Erma Bombeck
