The Gallows - by Pieter Brueghal

It had been years since I painted in oils. I'd been having babies and nursing babies for 10 years, and when I finally got back to teaching art it was pottery until 2002 when I finally talked the administration into giving me a painting class. I'm almost embarrassed by this first dive back into oil painting. When I look at this I remember 2 things. 1) I had forgotten how to clean up oil paint and sure made a mess in the sink. Nearly 20 years later the sink in the classroom is still stained. 2) I painted a Gallows! A place they kill people. What the heck! That's not my nature. I paint happy things, pretty things! I chose it for the composition and didn't know what it actually was until a few years later when I began teaching about Famous Artists. So, ya. Not really my style, or my kind of subject matter but I did get back into painting. Through all my years as an Art Teacher I have always created art along with my students. Not just demos, but serious artwork. It kept me motivated to go to work, and just ask my husband, it kept me working long hours because for years my classroom was my studio.