Derby Balloon Race

This is a painting I did from a composite of shots taken at the Great Balloon Race in Louisville.  It's an annual event leading up to the Derby each year.  The funniest thing about this painting is what's underneath.  The masonite panel is large, probably 3x5ft. and approx. 45 years old!  Back in 1967 my Mom commissioned a painting to go over our living room couch.  She wanted a depiction of a little boy and girl, done in an Old Masters style of painting.  What appeared over our couch was fairly scary- even I could see that, and I was pretty young.  The painting went back to the artist 3 different times, each time it got worse.  The children each looked like a combination of The Joker and those Bratz dolls.
The painting finally disappeared, never to be seen again. (Or so we thought)  A few years ago it appeared in my Jeep, along with some other family treasures that my Dad decided I needed.  He and my Mom had stashed the painting in the rafters of the garage all these years.  They refused to throw it away- they had spent way too much money on it.  Obviously, I totally commiserate with that poor artist...many paintings have been less than a good time (see previous post) My thoughts with this one is that it has ended up a collaborative effort-since my parents are willing to look at it again.