What’s up with all these sock monkey paintings? Here’s the story behind the big red grin.
It all started with my mother’s sock monkey. I inherited it after her passing. At the time I was overwhelmed by the number of things she left behind, so I tucked the sock monkey into an old cedar chest where it sat for many years.
One day, in response to a painting competition, I set up a still-life tribute to my mom. I’ve always used my creativity to process life, and my first sock monkey painting was created as a way of working through my unresolved grief of losing my mother to cancer.
Mom was a brilliant musician and gifted teacher with a keen sense of humor. I remembered Mom’s sock monkey when I was thinking of items to add to the still-life. and I decided it was the perfect symbol to embody all her qualities.
Something magical happened when I started to paint the first sock monkey painting. I felt I was channeling Mom’s love into the artwork. After I finished the first piece, I realized that many more paintings were in the wings just waiting to emerge. Lots of them! In fact, I have completed over 44 paintings.
The wonderful thing about this work is that they make me smile, and I discovered that they make other people smile too! Click here to see more sock monkey artwork 🙂
Here’s what’s happened along the way:
~The children’s book Monkey Made of Sockies was the proud winner of the 2005 Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award. It is the only award program ever to be honored by Disney.
~He became a family of Daphne’s golf club headcovers that have been carried on tour by PGA Professional golfers Jennifer Rosales, Mitch Thomas, and Leta Lindley, among others.
~He’s appeared at several Sock Monkey Festivals, and one of the original paintings is in the permanent collection of the Midway Village Sock Monkey Museum in Rockford, Il
~He even has his own music video, two music videos!
~He’s appeared on checks, golf ball markers, coloring books, and many other products.
Now he’s come full circle. My original intent with these images was to create an oracle card deck. I am happy to report that it launched in the spring of 2022. You can order your deck today!
Amazing what a spark will ignite and where it will go if you fan the flame.
Thanks, Mom!
I know you can see me and you are enjoying the ride as much as I am! And I love that you are still spreading joy around the globe.