Double Barrel
Watercolor
28 x 38 inches
Some of the artist’s earliest childhood memories are of the Wiltraut family reunions which would take place behind his cousin Bucky’s house. It would be a huge clambake, with black cauldron’s of steamed clams and clam chowder and the shells from the clams would be everywhere. The highlight for the younger children would be the large ice-filled galvanized tubs under the huge mulberry tree which contained bottles of every kind of soda you could think of. Throughout the day the kids would end up running into the house where Aunt Dotty would have candy dishes of every sort of peanut clusters and caramels on every end table and coffee table. Upon entering the house to partake in these sweet treats, the artist would stare longingly at Uncle Walt’s gun cabinet filled with his double barrel shotguns. Here behind the artist’s house are two such tubs which have served their duty for another year. Seeing them joined together made the artist think of those early family reunions and how he would dream of the day he would go on one of the small game hunts with uncles Walt and Bud and perhaps get to shoot a “Double Barrel”.