This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy   oil/canvas   12 x 16 x .5

Small children and baby animals are sure-fire subjects for a painting.  Who does't love 'em?  One of the hazards, in my view, is the overly-saccharine quality that can spoil the serious thoughtfulness of a work.  Another, in the case of a pig, is its overall round and fairly uninteresting shape.  I recall here, my first few paintings that included pumpkins and the difficulties I had in the rendering of such large, round shapes.  For me, for my own sense of "correctness", that shape must be broken up in some way.  The outside-in::inside-out principle  must be put to use here.....for me....so that I can feel satisfied upon completion.....the pig likeness and the overall design of the picture plane are both important to me.