The First Picnic

Our church is making a concerted effort to be a good neighbor to the surrounding community. One of the ways we're doing that is through an initiative called the "traveling table" -- where church members take an actual picnic table to a nearby apartment complex, and host a meal for the residents there. 

The Amazing Reese and I are on one of the teams going to a specific complex with a traveling table (that our group designed and painted -- see the photo below) and sharing a meal with the people who live there. The idea is to have a few "picnics" over a period of a few months and get to know the people there with no strings attached. 

Our first picnic was great. The traveling table was laden with an abundance of food. The area around the picnic table, near the manager's office, was quiet at first. Gradually, though, residents came out of their apartments and joined us for an hour or so. We all chatted, and ate, and played cornhole. It was fun. We had our second picnic last weekend, comprised of assorted crock pots of chili, cornbread, and smores by the fire pit for dessert. We'll start planning our third picnic soon. 

In conjunction with the literal picnic table that we painted, the church commissioned a painting (by yours truly) to go along with the "traveling table" theme. The idea is that the church wanted to have a visual reminder for us to live lives of hospitality toward our neighbors. 

This is how I interpreted that concept.

The title of the painting is The First Picnic. It's large, 30" x 40" and oil on linen.  

It just so happens that the first place our painted traveling table went was to the apartment complex on the other side of the wall that is depicted in the painting (behind the trees). 

The First Picnic, oil on linen, 30" x 40" 

There is a place waiting for you at the table, and extra food in the basket. All are welcome.

Editor's note: I've been sitting on this story for a while. The painting itself took a few months to complete, and then I had to wait to say anything about it until the painting was officially "unveiled" at church, which happened this morning. 

It was a challenge to paint -- in essence, it's ten portraits and a landscape with a little still life thrown in for fun. The people in the painting graciously agreed to pose for me one day after church last fall at which time I took over 100 reference photos. It took a while to sketch. And for continuity and harmony in the piece, I changed the colors of some of the clothes.