Painting the Day

When I was a kid, I loved listening to the music of a family of singers.The music group was begun by brothers who wanted to be like the Beatles (an excellent choice!). Later, their mother and their sister joined them on stage and on recordings. They performed a kind of pop-rock that was fun to listen to in the sixties and seventies, including songs like "Hair." My very favorite song was "The Rain, the Park and Other Things" (think "I love the flower girl -- oh, I don't know just why, she simply caught my eye...."), but I had a few others I really loved. "What is Happy?" and "We Can Fly." A haunting song written by David Gates (of Bread) called "Can't Measure the Cost (of a Woman Lost)." Great memories.
These were songs that evoked memories, emotions, pictures in my mind.

One such picture was from a song called "Painting the Day." It's an optimistic piece about changing the world through perception. I always wanted to do a painting or drawing based on it. Finally, in 2005, I did just that. I have several versions of this whimsical graphic, which depicts a young girl (yes, P.L., my inner child) with a palette and brush, painting the sky. The sun is smiling off to her left, appreciative of the sentiment.

Not long ago, I heard from Vicky, the shopkeeper for the Cowsill's online store, that Barry Cowsill was one of the people who died in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina. His remains were not identified until January of this year. Since Barry was the person who sang lead on this song, I felt even more affected. Barry's older brother Bill passed away in February, making this winter a sad time for fans.

The "Painting the Day" art will always remind me of happy times and feelings. When they aren't happy, when your world is dark, paint some sunshine and change the way you feel about life.

Thanks, Barry.