There was an old woman...

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,

she had so many children she didn't know what to do.

She fed them all broth without any bread,

then whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.

This nursery rhyme was supposedly written to make fun of King George II and his wife. They had eight children who were apparently driving the woman quite mad.

Another thought is that it refers to King George who began the men's fashion for wearing white powdered wigs in the 1700's. He was consequently referred to as the old woman! The children were the members of parliament and the bed was the Houses of Parliament - even today the term 'whip' is used in the English Parliament to describe a member of Parliament who is tasked to ensure that all members 'toe the party line'.

As a point of historical interest the wigs worn by women of the period were so large and unhygienic that it became necessary to include mousetraps in their construction! (rhymes.org)

16"x20" oil on canvas Copyright Bill Reed 2007

Easy Rider

This is one of my favorite watercolor surf paintings. Fast and spontaneous, not spending too much time laboring over details. After I finished I sprinkled sea salt over parts of the wave to get the mottled effect. The large granules of sea salt suck up the water and paint and leave a blank area. When the paint dries the salt is wiped off and voila it's finis. Mon deu!! (?)

watercolor 5"x7" on Canson 140 lb paper NFS

Coyright Bill Reed 2007

"My, what big ears you have, grandma."

"The better to hear you with, my dear."

There are a few versions of this tale, but the original is usually attributed to the Brothers Grimm. One version has the wolf eating the grandmother (whole)after getting into the house (pretending to be Little Red Riding hood). He then waits disguised as grandma, and eats Little Red (whole)after she arrives. A hunter in the forest hears the commotion, runs in, kills the wolf and cuts open its stomach saving grandma and Little Red. Then they fill his stomach full of stones which kills him. (Over kill?) I'd think just cutting him open would have done the job, but I guess they wanted to make sure he got his just deserts. (Arf! Arf!)

Another version has Red saved by the hunter before getting eaten.

The tale makes the assertion that it's safer in the village than in the dark forest, or "don't wander off, see what happens."

Acrylic on stretched canvas 16"x20" SOLD Copyright Bill Reed 2007

Prints available

Marbled Godwit

The Marbled Godwit (Limosa Fidoa) is a large shorebird found along the coasts of California, Mexico, and South America.
Their breeding habitat is the northern prairies of western Canada and the north central United States near marshes or ponds. They nest on the ground, usually in short grass.

In autumn, they migrate in flocks to the coasts of , California, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico and South America. (Wikipedia)

Their long bills allow them to poke around in mud flats and sand for crustaceans. They also eat insects and some aquatic veggies.They’re fun to watch on the beach as they dart around in groups, poking in the sand for goodies.

Watercolor 9"x12" on 140 lb.Arches paper

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.