Back in 2006, artist Jacqueline Picard, Clarkston, Washington, entered an 18-by-24-inch drawing in the Nez Perce County Fair in Lewiston, Idaho. The theme for the fair was Hometown Hoedown, and The Barn Dance won the Creativity Award.
Picard sent Grit a copy of the drawing, and we hope our readers enjoy the drawing as much as we do.
The artist points out some of the details: the papa mouse trundling a wheelbarrow full of popcorn toward his family and home in the woodbox (in the lower left corner); the rabbit sitting contentedly in the lap of a little boy (in the lower right corner); and a couple sitting on a wagon in the doorway (middle, far right).
“I was happy with the sway of the lady guitar player,” Picard says. “The cowboy dancers have red handkerchiefs in their pockets, and their old-fashioned shirts and the girls’ dresses match in color like regular square dancers do. It was fun to put the feet hanging down above the musicians. Kids seem to always be hanging from the rafters.
“I left a break between the musicians so the viewer could walk right in and join the fun,” she says. “The cowboys and other figures in the far side of the room and the little girl in front are from sketches I did at a rodeo.”
Picard says the message of the drawing is to have fun and include the children.
“I think that is a good message for Grit to carry,” Picard says. “I hope you and your readers enjoy the drawing as much as I enjoyed creating it.”