This stone was commissioned as a memorial to a loved one. I painted the motorboat at its regular mooring with “Johnny’s” hat painted in Trompe L’oeil style. I worked from photoes of his boat and the lake where he moored it, but I had Johnny’s real hat sitting on my work table as I painted it. I tried to capture the feel of the canvas fabric and the stitching. It was such a big hat that I could not make it life size or it would have covered the whole surface! A simple message on the side says it all. The stone is about 16 ” in diameter and 2 inches thick. The shape of the stone suggested a heart to me; It was all I needed for inspiration. My first step in starting the piece was to block it in with chalk.
