swing

(click the image to enlarge)

i was invited to donate artwork for a silent auction being organized by the miracles for children foundation.

a black tie gala will be held tonight (june 21st) at saskatoon inn, in support of children with degenerative eye blindness. cocktails start at 6:30pm followed by dinner, a guest speaker and a silent art auction.

for the auction, i have donated this original drawing called “swing”. i chose this because there’s a child in it, and it’s one of my few drawings that is not too offensive to most people.

i won’t be able to attend this event, but i hope many people find this drawing interesting and worth bidding on.

life is short. it’s not to be wasted.

“gondola song”:
life is short, fall in love, maidens.
before the crimson colour fades away from your lips.
before the tides of passion cool within you.
for there will be no tomorrow.

from the movie “ikiru (to live)” by director kurosawa akira.

this is my favorite scene of all time. the actor, shimura takashi, portrays watanabe, who works at a city office for thirty years without passion. everyday just passes without purpose. one day, he finds out that he has terminal stomach cancer and only six months to live. he regrets that he has wasted his life and decides to do something good for society in the time he has left. he is determined to help a group of working-class mothers get a playground built. without telling anybody that he has terminal cancer, he dies alone in the snowy playground…

i heard a rumour a couple years ago that there was a plan to remake ikiru, with tom hanks in shimura’s role. i hope that plan was trashed, because they are wasting their time.

if you haven’t seen the original, make sure you do.