Life in the 'Dale

   Life in the 'Dale is a fun, whimsical series that I am working on, based on childhood, farming and a whole bunch of giant sized objects!! It is my longest going series thus far with 16 paintings and many more to come. I got the inspiration for Life in the 'Dale when I painted "I should have Kept that Cow" which is an illustration of the fairytale Jack and The Beanstalk.
"I Should Have Kept That Cow!!"

    I really liked the way it came out and the whimsical style in which I painted it so I decided to do more like it. 

    The name "'Dale" (The word Dale itself means valley or broad valley) Comes from a shortened version of my hometown "Farmingdale" . In fact the series is loosely based on what Farmingdale may have looked like long ago in it's founding days. Most of the images have an old fashioned twist to them, depicting simpler times. 
I'll Be The Teacher's Pet For Sure!!!

    All the titles are clever descriptions of what you see going on the in picture, helping to tell the story. This series is fun for me as I get to use my imagination and most of the pictures have a very sunny happy feel to them. 
"That's not gonna fit in Mama's Vase!!"
"I'm Going to Need a Bigger Sleigh!!"
  This lighthearted series, I feel, will brighten up peoples day by bringing back a bit of childhood to the viewer. I think childhood is a great inspiration and am often working with my inner child. This series is a testimony to that. I have also done paintings of  Holidays in the 'Dale, depicting some of my favorite holidays!! Not even Santa Claus is immune!!



   Many of the things I depict in the series stem back from games I played as a child. For instance "Snowball Fight" is based on a game my friends and I would play; a contest to see who could make the biggest snowball. "Dude, I'm NOT eating that!!" Is based on when I was young and my friends and I would play on the hay bales in the field next to my house. Everything seems big when you are a kid!!
"Snowball Fight"
"Dude, I'm NOT eating that!!!"
"When Life gives You Lemons"
   My hope is that this series is relate-able to people of all ages, and will bring back fond memories for some. Though many of the characters live a hard working farm life, and are put in seemingly scary situations there is always humor and a silver lining!!

To See More paintings from this series go here-Life in the 'Dale

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