This piece is a gouache painting on Arches watercolor paper then applied to wood with a decoupage medium.  This artist taught English in Africa.  Everyday life there had two extremes: crazy wild or deadly calm.  African animals with their spots, stripes and strange shapes have the artist’s work come to life.  While my adventures have changed, my spirited storytellers have not, and I still turn to them to bet tell a tale.  For this piece, again I look to my exotic friends to tell a story of family and home.  “The Peaceable Kingdom” expresses all that I cherish about home: love, harmony and magic.