E is for Elephant

Good Morning Peeps!  The Michigan summer has been rolling along beautifully with weather that I’m certain has never been this warm – at least in my lifetime.  We even had a couple that hit 100 degrees. Yikes!  I’ve lived in Michigan my entire life and can tell you that this is not typical.  Growing up, it was a huge deal when temps would hit over 90.  Last weekend, my daughters and I went to the farmers market and then hit a few yard sales.  On our adventure, I came across a super cute framed picture of “E is for Elephant”.  The frame was made of metal and had a backing made of what old pegboards used to be made of minus all the holes (the name for this material escapes me).   Ok, this is really going to date me, but does anyone remember when there used to be floral paneling?!?  Same material except this is blank.  Between the pegboard material, the heavy white frame, and the large clips holding the picture in, I guesstimated that this was from the 70’s, maybe early 80’s at best.  The glass and frame were a bit dirty but nothing my water vinegar mixture couldn’t clean up.  I bought the piece, put it in my car, and then totally forgot about it until late last night.  I really should have gone to bed, but instead convinced myself it was the perfect time to work on it.

I grab it out of my car, began to take it apart and was a little surprised.  When I removed the backing, I saw what appeared to be blobs of paint on the back of the picture.  Thinking nothing more of this, I continued to take the picture out and clean the glass.  About 3 minutes later, it was time to reassemble everything when to my shock I realized that this was a painting!  All along, I thought that it was some old print.  Immediately I scanned for any hint of the artists name and found the initials slightly hidden in the picture.  MPV or maybe it is MPL – could be either but not much to go on.  Either way, its new home will be in my 2 year old’s bedroom.  Anyone ever seen a similar one before?  Would love to know who’s work it is!

Images:  House of Many Hues