This is a commission for my dear friend Joni — a Christmas surprise for her husband. Happily they love it! And, hate to admit it, but I do too. Funny thing …. I thought about the design for months. Knew I wanted it to tower over the landscape, with a larger than life feeling. At first I played around with all sorts of clutter, telling the Coburg story in little pieces and parts that would mean a lot to the family. But hard as I tried, that never worked. So I consulted some masters of monumental painting … Bo Bartlett, Ben Long, Diego Rivera, Grant Wood … a few of my personal favorites. Simplicity was the guiding approach. The whole point of a symbol is to say a whole lot … but without a whole lot of fanfare.
