Muleart

You might remember a painting that caught my eye in a local store a year or so ago.

I originally tried to get Carisa to buy it but $365 for a picture of two donkeys 

staring each other down would be a bit much for anyone.

Monte and I really liked it and vowed to paint one ourselves once our addition was complete.

Monte felt it summed up marriage in a single work of art.

No words needed.

Well, that time came last week.

I bought a pack of poster boards so we could feel free to make mistakes.

I just grabbed the paint I had and mixed colors to get what I wanted.

We did a pencil sketch first, each drawing one mule.

Monte decided that “muleart” is what 

this form of art should be called.

A little classier than “donkey art” 

or “mullet” 

as my autocorrect keeps trying 

to change “muleart”  to.

Interesting…

We outlined the sketches with black paint.

I tried to do the spots on my mule like the expensive painting but it ended up looking like some sort of medieval executioner hood.

Not the vibe I was going for at all, 

since you know, 

the summarization of MARRIAGE,

so I erased them.

My mule.

Monte’s brother said my mule reminded him of a character from a Kevin Henkes book.

Which are all mice.

So I have a mouse mule vibe going out.

Monte’s mule.

I had to fight Monte to put any definition of a pupil in his mule’s eye.

Without it, there was a possessed-mule-back-from-the-dead kind of vibe,

which would’ve changed the entire tone of the painting for sure.

I hope no one’s muleart could be best defined by

a possessed-mule-back-from-the-dead.

Especially one that’s trying to scare

Chrysanthemum, for the love of Pete.

Monte’s mule is still giving my mule a pretty stiff stink eye.

But I love the bewildered look of,

“Who? Me?”

that my mule is sending out.

Says a lot about our marriage.

I decided to use a barn wood frame that my dad made for our finished muleart.

While our builder, Paul, was over last week with the painter, Chuck, doing touch-ups, I asked the best way to hang the picture and next thing you know, I was sitting on the sectional telling BOTH of them to move it “just a teence to the right”. 

I’m going to miss them SO MUCH.

Paul asked if Monte painted it.

After I said yes and before I could say that I painted part of it too, 

he wanted to know why Monte drew my mule 

giving his mule such a stink eye.

Says a lot about our marriage,

doesn’t it?

Before Paul left, he said he wanted to commission Monte for three more paintings since,

“It won’t take him more than 7 minutes for all three of them!”

Then he laughed and laughed.

Muleart.

So misunderstood.