Heffalump

I know it's extremely childish of me but it's difficult to contain my excitement because this afternoon I'd picked up my painting of an elephant that I'd bought at Chatuchak market sometime last week.

There it hangs on my bedroom wall among other 'art' pieces I've gathered over the years

It's funny how I came across it though because my friend and I were actually looking for gifts for our friends back home and had strayed into the wrong part of the market --because apparently it's that easy to get lost there, doesn't surprise me seeing how huge it is-- when all of a sudden I saw it. This beautiful, colourful oil elephant, just sitting there in the heart of the largest traditional market in Asia. And I know I shouldn't say this because there doesn't seem to be a way to make it not sound wrong but elephants remind me of my mother. I never told her either because she probably thinks I'm trying to say she's fat or wrinkly so god forbid I ever tell her this. That's not the reason why it reminds me of her though, there is something about elephants that make me feel safe. Which is ironic considering the fact that when I was little my parents took us to the safari and an elephant came a charging at our car and snapped off one of our rear view mirrors, leaving my parents traumatised. That's not what I wanted to talk about though, all I'm saying is that elephants are these wise creatures and they move about rather slowly because they don't need to be in a hurry, forever moving at the right pace, nothing more, nothing less. Not to mention they look really cuddly so that alone is enough to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And that is why it reminds me of my mother.

But back to the painting, I felt really bad about it because I'd gotten 2 paintings, the other is that of this ornate, ultra-marine butterfly currently still at the shop, for a really low price. I don't like having to bargain or haggle prices when it comes to artworks because that seems a little unappreciative of the time, energy and creativity that went into the creation of these pieces. Alas, there we were, 2 paintings for 650 Baht. The people who sold it to us seemed like really nice people as well. There was a woman who painted the two pictures I bought and all smiles, she went and rolled her paintings as soon as I'd said that there wasn't enough room in my backpack to fit 2 canvas paintings. Her husband who was sitting at his stool, working on another painting of two elephants. He told us that he learned to paint at home and that his whole family painted; his wife, obviously enough, and his son who also had several paintings up for sale.

Perhaps most importantly was that these two paintings were the first I had ever bought for myself so it feels extra special and I'm really pleased with them. Which is why on my way to the frame shop this afternoon I kept having to remind myself to calm down, stop skipping and resume walking like a normal person would.

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Holy crap my wall is really a mess, I should get it repainted or something...