Childhood memories. They can be sad or they can be sweet. They can be feared or they can inspire. This painting is based on a childhood memory that I decided to embellish "just a tad". You might be wondering what godforsaken event this painting is based on, but before you get into a tizzy, do not forget that painting is an art form in which one can climb out of reality ever so often.
When I was a kid, we had next door neighbors, a man and wife, who would argue periodically. Since the houses on the street were built side by side, touching each other, you could tell if your neighbors were arguing. On certain nights, the voices would reach a level that was impossible to ignore. That was the signal for my brother and I to get a couple of drinking glasses. We would carefully place the glasses on the wall and listen to the argument next door. I had these irrational thoughts that one day, they would hear us placing the glasses on the wall and find out that we were listening in on them. I guess it was the guilt kicking in. The eavesdropping did not last too long after that. I guess my brother and I realized it was none of our business.
Of course the painting takes it up a notch and puts an absurd twist to it. Here, a woman is getting revenge for whatever mental and/or physical abuse he has inflicted on her. She puts a sword through his head taking with him an innocent mouse between the floors and that nosy neighbor downstairs. Do not feel sorry for these people in the painting. He probably deserved it anyway and the guy downstairs should have minded his own damn business.
