Brian's Trophies

Brian's Trophies
by Jane McElvany Coonce

I have 3 sons, and each one has a trompe l'oeil painting of mine.  Nicholas has "33 Bottles of Beer on the Wall", Kevin has "Harry Potter's Bookshelf", and I knew I had to do one for my youngest son, Brian.  Brian is a diver.  He has been diving since he was 9.  He now is a senior at University of Delaware and has been diving for them for 4 years.  As a kid, he won many trophies and medals.  The problem is, as one gets older, what does one do with all of these trophies.  Eventually, people have to throw them out to make way for other things such as blenders and toasters.  So I decided to do a painting of all the trophies he had. That way, if he ever does get rid of the real trophies, he will have a painting to help him remember all of his accomplishments of his youth.  This is not a painting that would appeal to most people, but to him, it carries the memories of all the hard work he put into his passion for dive.  I know through the years he will cherish this painting I did out of love for him and his love of the sport.