Artwork From the Heart

The other evening, Madeleine was quite beside herself, crying and wailing because Daniel had reportedly ripped the drawing that she had done for me.  Without investigating the highly implausible proposition that Daniel could do such a thing, I insisted that Madeleine and I look at her drawing, and I pretended there was nothing to be seen but pure art, and I raved about how wonderful and beautiful it was, and asked her what it was (necessary), and told her how much I loved her drawing.  I went on to say that I especially loved it because it came from the heart - she had made it with love.

At that point, Daniel took off up the stairs, and came back a few minutes later, with a pink piece of paper with drawings on both sides.  The drawing, in both cases, was a pie - probably an apple pie - in a pie tin, with steam rising from the center of it.  This is one of Daniel's themes, much the way that other distinguished artists have been known to make many pictures with the same subject, although, as with Rembrandt, each of Daniel's pies has its own depth and meaning.

But at a closer glance, one could make out one additional detail in each of these pie still-lifes:  a little heart, in the upper left-hand corner of the paper.

This was truly a gift from the heart, art made with love.  As with Madeleine, I recognized that magical property in Daniel's work, with all the necessary fanfare.

(September 29, 2012)