Afternoon Nap

Painting Afternoon Nap was really fun! First of all, there is a warthog. That was an animal I had not seen in real life until last week. When I saw it, I was amazed at the beautiful habitat it has, a yard with an apple tree covered with red apples! I thought how lucky for him or her to have so many apples to eat! When I saw the warthog fast asleep,I figured it must have eaten so many apples it needed an afternoon nap. That was the concept.

I decided to paint the tree first just in case the warthog woke up. I do not shy away from moving animals and would really rather they were awake for a portrait. Normally I do not paint sleeping animals, but in this case I thought there seemed to be a good reason for it: tired after eating. Painting the tree, I was out of the way of guests who wanted to view the warthog.

Almost everyone who came called the wart hog "Pumbaa" and many people began to sing, "When I was a young warthog..." from the Lion King. Some people sang, "Hakuna Matata!" also from the Lion King movie. "Pumbaa" was still asleep when I had finished the tree, so I painted him or her under the pretty tree. (Really he or she was under a different tree. And really, if I were to ask "Pumbaa" they might say, "Of course I was lying in the dirt. I was way better camouflaged than where you painted me surrounded by grass and apples!) Finally, "Pumbaa" awoke and was joined by another warthog who had been hiding. Then people exclaimed, "There are two Pumbaas!" I did not paint the second warthog because the painting was finished.

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