“I used to think the magic of Walt Disney World lived only in the moment—until I started painting it. Those trips for our family, those nights together making life-long memories, they stuck with me, and my art became a way to hold onto them.

When i began the preliminary work for painting Cinderella’s Castle I frequently worked from the really green grass of the Main Street hub. My family knows, whenever I’m in the Magic Kingdom I always have to have an "I Lava You Float" (that wonderful strawberry fizz with DOLE Whip Orange and pop rocks goodness). As for the Castle, I’ve loved it since I was a kid, and I love painting and drawing it. And I still love hearing the melody of “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” when near it.

On my last reference-visit, I lingered in the soft lights of Main Street, painting the Castle’s glow in rough lines until my tablet battery gave out (long after the crowds drifted out after the fireworks show). I love the sweet aroma of the Confectionery’s delights and the memory-making smell of popcorn (how can you not get at least ONE bucket of popcorn?). Those things, of course, make that familiar ‘park-leaving ache’ worsen as the Magic Kingdom recedes into the horizon from the deck of Admiral Joe Fowler.

This magical longing is what I tried to infuse into my monochromatic Cinderella’s Castle painting—grays and blacks.