Great Nephew II
January 17, 2012
About the scariest thing in my younger days was our basement, which featured a gigantic coal-fed furnace complete with horrifying facial qualities. The grill was its mouth, and I went down there only to fling my soggy snowsuit over one of its tentacle arms in order to then put on a freshly-dried suit. Once done, I’d try not to peek at the flames licking at the hideous mouth as I raced back out into the snowball fight du jour.
Tied for second in the scary department was the black-and-white-filmed 1951 classic “A Christmas Carol” starring Alistair Sim, (whose facial qualities were probably borrowed by the designer of the furnace grill). It was back then a relatively new movie and always gave me recurring nightmares.
I happened to be taking a few snapshots when the older of my two Great Nephews was watching that very same 1951 “A Christmas Carol’ in 2006. Up till then he wasn’t allowed to see it (which restriction I wish my own parents had imposed on me), so this was his very first glimpse at Jacob Marley screaming his way through Scrooge’s bed chamber walls.
'Marley's Ghost Makes an Appearance'
His Aunt and Uncle are obviously ‘Christmas Carol’ vets, regarding the shrieking spirit as ‘just an undigested bit of beef’.
This painting was juried into one of The Federation of Canadian Artists’ Open Shows a couple of years ago. The words ‘Open Show’ indicates that the show is open to all qualifying artists across Canada.
weisserwatercolours 
Honest compliment 😉
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wow–so many compliments! Thank you very much again, Jenny!
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Brilliant! 😉
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That just proves it: little boys are wimps, and little girls lead the way. My older sister was my hero–and still is. Thank you for sharing your Pennsylvania memories. . . and your compliments!
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I had the complete opposite feeling about those coal furnaces. When I would visit my family in PA, they all had them in their basements and to me – that equaled mystery and intrigue and I had to get to know what secrets it held. I grew up in a home without a basement. Visiting family that had a “dungeon” was the first part of the magical hunt and the furnace was the prize! Maybe that is what inspired me to create in the steam punk style? I love the Christmas Carol that version is my favorite. I felt about the witch in OZ as you did about Scrooge.
Love this painting capturing your nephews expression and the parents in the background.
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thank you, and though I’ve never yet seen the 3D (only two seats left in the theatre), my favourite version now is the animated one with Jim Carrey. Thank you again for commenting.
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Hi,
A great painting, I love how you have captured your Great Nephew with such a surprise expression, complete with the open mouth brilliant.
“A Christmas Carol” is one of my all time favorites, of course I’m an “old girl” now, but it came out a couple of years ago in 3D, and I thought it was fantastic. 😀
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