“Shortly after I completed this special painting in 1992, I had already made up my mind that I was going to retain it as the first piece of my personal collection and I would keep it for twenty-five years.  I  would take the opportunity to own and enjoy one of my original paintings, since all of my completed paintings to date had all been sold. Each painting I complete holds memories that are treasured in so many different ways, each for its specific collage of cherished personal recollections that went in to compose the work. I also associated it with the Christmas holiday, so I would wait until this time in the year to make it available for sale on the twenty-fifth of December. Many collectors over the years have repeatedly requested to purchase it, and I  just could not part with this piece of me that spawned the very successful fine art Holiday Collection produced by my company. MOUSEKING premiered and unveiled the collection at the National Stationery Show in New York in 2004 before such top national retailers as Neiman Marcus, Saks 5th Avenue, Papyrus and Gumps, just to name a few. This collection was an immediate overnight success and  MOUSEKING  was well on its way to becoming a notable national brand name.

I remember everything about creating this piece as if it were yesterday. It was in October of 1992. I remember that my first born child was only a month away from coming into the world.  In the spirit of anticipation of all that was soon to come, I decided to revel in the symphonic beauty and grandeur of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" late one night. While absorbing the music as it flowed through my mind, the vision for this piece surged into my head with such clarity and vivid intensity that I rushed downstairs and grabbed a canvas, brought it up into my studio and immediately began painting. With only my passion guiding me, I created this work to reflect my love and appreciation for this timeless classic composition and was further driven and inspired by the blessing God was about to bestow upon my wife and me, the birth of my first born child who we would name Andrew.

I have always been inspired and motivated to create when I listened to music. The magical allure of this art form called music is its ability to draw out our emotions, capture our hearts, souls, and minds, and it entices us to experience a full range of perceptions within one musical score. In only a few short notes, we may be filled with such joy and happiness or become melancholy and saddened by the sounds that we associate and connect with our memories to our poignant heartfelt sentiments. So inspired was I by the beautiful melodies of Tchaikovsky’s immortal masterpiece called “The Nutcracker” and by the upcoming birth of my first child that I put brush and oil direct to the canvas and began painting my vision of what this music meant to me as it connected to my perception of who I saw as this Mouse King was in my mind and heart. All the necessary and special elements came together while creating this piece, which combined for the perfect storm in my imagination. For me, this is one of my greatest triumphs after pulling inspiration from all the beautiful music and all that it meant to me expecting my first child who was to be born during my favorite time of the year.”

Brad

Date: 1992

Medium: Oil on Linen

Image Size: 5"w x 4"h

Framed Size: 18"w x 16"h

Signed: "Parrish" in Oil on Top of Linen in Lower Right Corner of Painting

Signed: On Back of Linen ("Mouse King" - Parrish -1992)

Weight: 10 Lbs.

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