Life imitates art

Here is a tour of our apartment's new artwork:

From the front door: ROAR!

It's a Samuel Tarpley original, circa 2005.

Artwork from the covers of "Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep!" and "Ten Tiny Toes" are on the side walls. Ethan nixed my idea of baby pictures here, so we had to go with our second choice.

And I had to make room for a couple of Ethan originals:

This one is called "Superhero"...

Quick story behind "Superhero." The character's name is Money Man. His sidekick (not pictured) was called Cash Cow. Their super power was lending people money. I reminded Ethan of that tonight, and he said, "Well, they can't just give it away."

On the opposite wall: "Man With Hotdog."

Ethan was three when he painted this. I love how all the color and detail are in the hot dog. The human figure is basically just there to hold the hot dog.

We put Samuel's Pollock-like masterpiece in the living room above the TV.

I had an original Frank Lloyd Wright elevation rendering rolled up in a tube in my closet for the past five years just waiting for my wife to leave me so I could frame it and hang it in the living room. I did.

It's not "Man Eating Hotdog," by any means, but it's very cool.

And it looks across the room to my Chrysler Building elevation blueprint, which has been there since 2001.

In the kitchen: Samuel as Jim Morrison. This is from his long-hair phase, when he was probably 10. One day I thought, "He looks like such a hippie. Hey, I have an idea...."

And here's a Samuel original, "Starry Nights."

In my bedroom: yet another Frank Lloyd Wright blueprint above my bed. (Noticing a trend?) It replaced an ugly honey oak mirror that Jen had bought years ago, which looked like it came out of a Peoria retirement home. 

Look at the lines, look at the lines... 

Above my dresser I put two of my favorites photos of my sweet little boys when they were sweet and little. Samuel is on the floor, showing a rare smile. Ethan is a bumble bee marching into battle.

Don't you want to hug them?

Finally, in my bathroom is a photo of three-year-old Ethan attempting to navigate a urinal. 

It's the greatest picture ever. Don't tell him it's on my blog.

I think our work is complete for now.