The Little Adventurer Camps Out in His Treehouse While the Forest Animals Below Dance with Merriment

  Here is a commissioned picture that I finished recently. It is for a yet-to-be-born baby boy. The client requested the picture to have Northwest wildlife in it. All the animals are ones that could be spotted in a real Pacific Northwest forest.
  When I was little, I had a Hansel and Gretal book that my dad use to read to me. It was a version that was retold by author Kay Brown with illustrations by Gerry Embleton.  This particular Hansel and Gretal book had really imagination-inspiring illustrations. There was the main picture and then there was all the little surprise details going on around the main picture. So maybe you would see a picture Hansel and Gretal wandering through the woods but to the side, you could spot a little elf peeking from the side of a tree. I loved all these details as a kid. It was fun to make up stories about the little elf, or the little animal wearing a jacket. This was my inspiration for this picture. The main picture is the animal dance party and the tree house, but I included lots of little details to inspire the little boy's imagination while he looks at it.

The little adventurer is full of wonder and curiosity. His favorite thing to do is wander the woods, investigating the natural world around him. Wherever the little adventurer goes, his dog, Scout also goes. Together, they like to learn about the world. He has learned all sorts of fascinating things about natural science through his daily forest investigations. Such things as how a caterpillar turns into a moth and the materials needed to build a bird nest. Inspired by the building skills of the bird, the little adventurer built his very own treehouse in the middle of the woods.

After a long day of forest investigation, the little adventurer likes to curl up in his tree house and read, draw pictures, look in his telescope or reexamine whatever interesting rocks or feathers he found during the day.

The little adventurer is very interested in the scientific world, but he also as an inkling that the forest is full of magic that is just out of reach. Sometimes from the corner of his eye, he thinks he sees magical creatures. Once while passing two squirrels, he though he heard them exchange a greeting of ‘hello’ to each other. While pondering the magic of the world, the little adventurer drifts to sleep.

Scout, however, isn’t so dazed with wandering thoughts and therefore, is wide awake. Scout thinks he hears some music jingling away in the forest just outside the tree house. Scout trots to the balcony to search for what is making the wonderful music. Outside, the music rumbles and twists around the tree trunks. An array of forest animals are gathered around source of music, an old record player. The animals are all dancing with great merriment! The bobcat jumps! The fox leaps! The rabbit twirls! The bear pirouettes, all while the music beats and swoons.

Scout is enraptured by wonderment as he watches the animal dance party! He lets out a friendly bark in an effort to wake his sleeping friend, but the little adventurer responds with a snore.  “I can’t wait to tell the little adventurer!” Scout thinks. But then he remembers his adventurous companion isn’t so great at speaking dog. “Someday he’ll learn!” Scout thinks optimistically.

The little adventurer could wake up at any moment! He too may be beckoned to the balcony by the music. He might plop down next to Scout and together the two friends will revel in the magic and beauty of the world.