I Spy with my Little Eye

What is it about the I Spy books that were so enticing?  The thrill of finding things hidden in plain sight.  Those pages felt like little worlds – messy and magical. I used to imagine myself shrinking down, wandering around the massive marbles and blocks.

I recently came across the photographer behind the iconic I Spy books, Walter Wick. He built those intricate sets by hand, carefully staging every object, using lighting and perspective in the most amazing ways. Wick’s ability to build entire worlds within a single frame is seriously so cool.  Check out his website, especially his Behind the Scenes content.

And just like those books, what you see might not be the same as what someone else sees. You might find something that reminds you of your own childhood. A color, an object, a feeling.  That’s my favorite part – when my story becomes your story too.

That brings me to the point of this blog post, the painting. This painting is the pinnacle piece in my recent art exhibition, Memory Lane. Inspired by Walter Wick and his amazing I Spy photographs. See the full Memory Lane collection here.

The Reference Photo

The Painting

I Spy with my little eye...

A Locket: The actual locket has photos of my grandparents when they were kids. When I was a kid, I would often take it out of my grandma’s jewelry box to look at it.

A Kodak Camera: Somehow this disposable camera has traveled with me since the early 2000s and I haven’t developed it yet!

5 Scrabble pieces: They spell my last name, STARK

A ring: More like the One Ring. This is actually The Ring of Power! My husband wanted this as his wedding ring, but it turned his finger green!

A thimble: This belonged to my grandma. She wasn’t really a sewer, but she knew how to patch a hole!

Two Birthday Cake Candles: In my OCD family, we would take the candles off the cake one at a time and blow them out away from the cake so as not to spread gems.

Limited edition prints available here.