Monday, February 7, 2011

The Banjo Player (one for Willie)


I have a collection of stuff I'd made for Willie intending to put in his pocket, but his mole was too small. So it's still waiting for me to mail it to him and I am adding this to the collection. Banjo player. Look out Willie. The hold up is the poems that go with the art.

This started out as a pencil sketch which I colored with those Staedtler watercolor crayons, but there weren't enough colors so I added Portfolio watercolor oil pastels and then a touch of actual watercolors. The paper is 5 x 7, that tuppence 70 pound sketch--too light for watercolors, but I intended it as pencil sketch--it needed color.


One of the Poems:

Needle Park at Night

The night is darker here.
The lights are broken
like the benches, broken,
never repaired.
The landlord said, “that place
is dangerous by day; never
go there at night.
He also said, “Don’t sing
or smile, a girl alone’s not safe.
He met me at the bus, escorted me
to the safely of my rented room
until I lost my job.
He put me on the street
when I had no rent.
“What can I do?” he said.
“I have to eat.”
I
don’t
have to eat,
I’ve learned,
not every day.
After a while, the pain stops hurting
quite so much.
And needle park at night
is not a lonely place; street people
share the darkness,
tell stories
sometimes smile or even sing.

2 comments:

roma said...

What fun goodies you do for folks! This is so whimsical, really wonderful.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Thanks, Roma! :-D YAY!