The Machinist

Someone once asked me, "how many paintings do you think you’ve done in your 45 years in art?" Their question later got me thinking about an old fellow I had once met who lived and worked on a small farm just outside our town. He was a machinist and had spent his entire life inventing and creating gears and pulleys out of iron and steel. I began thinking about how many things this old man had made over a career of some sixty years. How many students does a teacher teach before she can retire, how many contracts does a lawyer review, how many cavities does the dentist fill?
If you could stack up all of the machinery that the old man produced over his lifetime what would it look like?
This painting is a tribute to the vast number of contributions we each make to this world before we receive a hand shake and a gold watch.

Original Size: 45"x 30"

Original Oil Paintings retail for $8,000-$120,000.