Here is the first formal paper we wrote for writing studio. It is a descriptive piece about a painting by Wendell Minor.

The Pumpkin Snowman

Danny Samuels

Warm grays flow through the night sky pierced by the shining moon. The back of the scene looks almost depressing. The picture is quite dark and bleak with no color to bring it to life. A small house protrudes from the ground, lit only by two lights in the windows. By the house the ground is cluttered by gravestones with bats flying high above. The bat's wings cut through the night sky like knives through butter. They fly watching below for anything that may be of interest. The ground is desolate, with very little life besides that of the grass, where even there the life is slowly withering away. Small pine trees line the horizon poking at the sky like toothpicks at a set of teeth. Their sharp blackness pushes them out further into the background environment.

And there he is.......... The pumpkin man. The centerpiece of the scene. He glows with a warm orange that makes him pop from the scene and seem almost real, as though he could be touched. His eyes look as though he is lit from the inside. What could create such a light? Could it be a mysterious occult inhabitant? Or might it just be a candle at the bottom of it's hollow belly. This erie snowman of sorts is made up of three pumpkins with buttons carved away from his flesh. Jagged sticks poke out from the middle pumpkin and act as crude arms. A creepy cracked smile spreads through the upper pumpkin creating a face that puts the viewer at unease. Although he is smiling he is almost emotionless.

The crude snowman, made of not snow but pumpkins, sits waiting. It is impossible to tell what exactly he is waiting for. It could be many things or it could be one thing. His intentions are not readable as his face is lacking of concrete emotion to guess upon. He could be waiting for his prey to come close, unknowing of their impending doom. He could be staring into the strange horizon looking for something to intrigue him and trigger his imagination. He could even be contemplating the meaning of life and the answers to all of the universe's questions. As one knows, no one is a mind reader. We can sometimes come close through reading facial expressions, but as this strange snowman shows no recognizable emotion we are not able to guess everything he is thinking. All we can do is contemplate as the snowman sits waiting.

Work Cited

Minor, Wendell. The Pumpkin Snowman. Watercolor. Selby Gallery, Sarasota, Florida.