(Mice & Cat, Bison & Frogs, Wolf & Goats by Vivian Olsen)
Baby Goats dancing while a Wolf plays the fiddle, mice having a town-hall meet to stop the Cat from terrorizing them and a Bullfrog convincing his froglets that he is the biggest beast in the lake — these are just a few of many animals’ activities that I painted as whimsical illustrations for Animal Antics, the title of my forthcoming children’s book. I have created a dozen original watercolor paintings that are framed and will be displayed in my solo show during the month of July at Sage Picture Framing and Gallery. Each painting will be accompanied by one of my newly written stories based on Aesops Tales, stories that were passed on by word of mouth centuries ago.
Many years ago I came across an old book in an abandoned house, The Fables of Aesop, a 1923 reprinted edition which had first been published in London in 1894. Reading it, I discovered that historically a fable was called a Beast-Tale used to teach some moral truth. Aesop, a slave at Samos around 550BC, was the most prominent user of these tales and his name has ever since become connected with the Fable. My found book’s author, Joseph Jacobs writes, “These simple tales are as little children and… will forever find a home in the Heaven of little children’s souls.” Finding that small, worn out book made me want to someday write my own versions of these Tales that have been handed down and retold for centuries. And now, I have my own newly-written versions of the Tales for children, along with full page illustrations which may be viewed now, but there will be several more stories and paintings to add before the final publication date.