Lily

Spunky little pup "Lily" sold

oil on stretched canvas 12"x16"

Portraits this size start at $250

Contact Bill at http://www.mysurfbaby.com/

Beach Hut

Copyright Bill Reed 2007

When I was a kid my step father was in the Navy and was sent to Guam during the Korean war. The whole family went along and we spent three years on the island from 1952 until 1955. We loved it and I have some fond memories of my brother and I running around in the jungles and beaches. Since it was the early 50's, there was still plenty of evidence of W.W.II . Broken tanks and pill boxes with the big guns still in them dotted the beaches and cliffs. A great place for a couple of boys to play. My brother found a .45 service revolver on the beach. It didn't have the clip in it so my mom said we could keep it. We had lots of fun with that playing war.

What I remember most was how beautiful it was. There are thousands of islands that are found in the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. From The Easter Islands to New Zealand to Australia and the East Indies, Captain Cook must have been amazed at what he descovered during his voyages.
16"x20 acrylic on stretched canvas. $500.00 SOLD Prints also available. http://www.mysurfbaby.com/

Morgan's Cove

Copyright Bill Reed 2007

Sir Henry Morgan - 1635-1688 was a Welsh privateer who became leader of the buccaneers. He was among Englands most notorious and succesful privateers.

Now, what is the difference between a privateer, a buccaneer and a pirate? A privateer is authorized by a country to raid another country's ships during wartime and share the booty with the host country. A pirate is basically a robber on the high seas. Buccaneers were cattle theives native to the Caribean area, named after the french word boucanier. The Spainish forces didn't cater to the theives and drove them from Hispaniola to a small island called Tortuga. From there they were joined by many others and to get even, turned to piracy against anybody that sailed by. Buccaneers and pirates became synonymous.

Morgan was chosen by buccaneers to be their admiral after seizing the islands of Santa Catalina and Providence. His exploites soon became legendary as his forces grew to hundreds of men.
This painting is 16"x20" acrylic on stretched canvas. $425.00
contact Bill at http://www.mysurfbaby.com/

Hey diddle diddle....

Copyright Bill Reed 2007

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such a sight,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

The origin of the poem is unknown however I found two theories regarding it.

One theory is that it is a parody about Queen Elizabeth I, 1533 - 1603 ( the only surviving child of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn). The cat is supposed to be Queen Elizabeth and the dog Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. She refered to him as her lap dog. The dish being a server at the royal court and the spoon a taste-tester. Seems they ran away together and when they were caught were confined in the Tower of London. Don't mess with the Queen Mum.

Another theory is, during the early times in England when no one could read or write, the poem refered to constellations only visible in the April night sky.

Hey diddle diddle, the cat (Leo) and the fiddle, (Lyre) the cow (Taurus) jumped over the moon (the moon); The little dog (Canis Minor) laughed to see such a sight, and the dish (Crater- a dish shaped constellation) ran away with the spoon (Ursa Major, the Big Dipper).

April is the only month when these constellations can be seen in the night sky, thus signaling planting time to the farmers. http://www.mysurfbaby.com/

Old King Cole

Copyright Bill Reed 2007

Old King Cole was a merry old soul

And a merry old soul was he;

He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl

And he called for his fiddlers three.



Every fiddler had a fiddle,

And a very fine fiddle had he;

Oh there's none so rare, as can compare

With King Cole and his fiddlers three.


According to British legend, some think the rhyme was written about King Cole who lived in the town of Colcester in Essex England in the third century AD. It was claimed he was the father of St. Helena who later gave birth to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor.
Then again, others think the rhyme was written after Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco from the New World in 1585. Yet others think the "pipe" was not refering to a smoking pipe but rather a flute because of the last lyrics of the rhyme "Oh there's none so rare, as can compare with King Cole and his fiddlers three. That suggests he played the flute along with the fiddlers. .

Then there's King Coel of Northern England, but that's another story.

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J. Wellington Wimpy

Wimpy was a regular character in E.C. Segars comic strip called Thimble Theater. He was actually one of the more important characters until Popeye was introduced and became Olive Oyls new boy friend. Wimpy was soft spoken and a bit of a coward, thus living up to his name. He was also the worlds biggest moocher. The strip originally centered around Olive's family. Wimpy had a crush on her, but when Popeye showed up she only had eyes for him. When the Popeye cartoons were being made at Fliesher Studios, Wimpy then became a minor character. Dave Fliesher said Wimpy was too much of an intellect to be a good character in film cartoons. He was very intelligent and well educated but a big lazy moocher as well. His famous line, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." was first introduced in the 1934 Popeye cartoon "We Aim To Please". In "Popeye The Sailor Meets Sinbad The Sailor", Wimpy is seen eating hamburgers almost the entire show. No matter about his character flaws, you gotta love the guy.
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Beach Buggy

Copyright Bill Reed 2007

When I was 13 and my brother had just turned 16, he worked for a landscaper and saved enough money to buy his first car. It was a 1931 Ford Sport Coupe. A SportCoupe was a rag top but the top didn't go down like a convertable. I guess it was cheaper to manufacture a car without a top and just put a canvas lid on it. Or they just thought it looked sporty. I never did figure that one out, but it was a really neat car with a rumble seat. I guess the girls liked it alot too, because I didn't see him much once he started driving. I've had an affinity for old cars ever since he bought that thing.

This is a watercolor of a 1930 Ford pick up. It was more of a utility truck since the bed was too short to carry lumber or anything longer than about 6ft. That surfboard wouldn't fit either but I thought it would look cool.

9"x12" watercolor on 140lb. acid free paper matted to fit an 11"x14" frame. $125.00

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' 36 Chevy

All images copyright Bill Reed 2007

When I started Disney in 1966 as an apprentice inbetweener my salary was $55.00 a week. It was pretty poor pay but I figured I was getting the best education in the animation industry and they were PAYING ME. Wow, I was getting paid for doing what I love, and I was in SHOW BIZ. My wife Debi and I had an apartment in Hermosa Beach and of course she had to work too. A friend of ours bought a 1936 Chevy and drove it up from San Diego. He kept it for a while and then sold it to me for $50. I bought it from him so Debi would have a car to drive to work in Santa Monica. This old clunker had been on blocks for many years and actually had the original tires. As we drove along, rubber from the tires would fly off and hit the fenders with a whap, whap, whap, clunk. This painting is my tribute to that good old Chevy. I later sold it for $60 because I didn't have the money to restore it, but hey I made $10.

I've sold the original painting, but I have limited edition high quality giclee prints for sale.

16"x 20"-$95

11"x14" $55

8"x10" $40

Check out my web site http://www.mysurfbaby.com/

It's "Talk Like A Pirate Day"

Descent

As a surfer, I anticipate the big waves that roll down the coast every winter. Those big storms that brew up in the Northern Pacific and generate those humungus waves that pound the west coast and send shivers down the spines of sailors. There is a cadre of surfers who wait all year for the chance to pit their daring and skills against these monster waves. Maverick's is the NorCal spot where the monster waves reach their biggest. This painting is a salute to those watermen who dare Mother Nature.

"Descent" 16"x20" acrylic on canvas
Please visit my web site www.mysurfbaby.com

SOLD

Through The Worm Hole

As a kid growing up in the 1950's, my brother and I would get up early on Saturday mornings, turn on the t.v. and watch the test pattern until the first program came on. All t.v.'s in those days were black and white with a huge 12" screen. We'd watch Popeye, Roy Rogers, The Three Stooges,Our Gang Comedy and Looney Tunes among others. This painting is my tribute to Buck Rogers and those rocket ships on strings with a sparkler sticking out the back. Hey those were the days when all we had to worry about was the Russians blowing us up with an atomic bomb. Hell I remember when hamburgers were good for you, the air was clean and sex was dirty. I still think hamburgers are good for you.

Visit my web site at http://www.mysurfbaby.com/ for more info.