There are so many shows out there that I haven’t gotten around to watching, and “The Middle” is one of them. I was asked to paint this set and was honestly quite unprepared to because I really like to know a show first, at least peripherally, before committing to a project. I never feel fully connected with a set if I’m not familiar with it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to watch this show at all and was feeling a bit unsettled by the prospect of starting this project until the buyer revealed to me why he wanted it in the first place.
I have painted a lot of sets for fans of the movie or TV show but I never feel like I have the right to ask them “why.” A lot of them share with me the reason, which is always a bonus so when I’m painting the pieces, I can think about it and hope I capture the essence that had made them fans in the first place. Most of the time the buyers’ connection to the show is a happy one, but this one story was quite sad. It was about loss and loneliness and “The Middle” helped bring this person out of whatever sadness he was experiencing at that point in his life. I can’t help but feel a little weepy while painting (but it may also be from the fact that my shoulder and elbow is now rebelling against all the unreasonable exertion I’ve been putting into them in full force), but I enjoyed every minute of creating it.
The Hecks is: Mike, Frankie, Axl, Sue Sue, and of course Brick. Apparently there are 9 seasons of this show…something for me to binge during my upcoming sojourn back to the USA!