Donald Roller Wilson is both painter and storyteller and in Days and Nights at Brenda's Nut Farm he presents the ongoing adventures of his unusual and highly developed cast of anthropomorphised animal characters. After being blown out of Mrs. Jenkins' house the animals now find themselves at Brenda's Nut Farm which the artist describes as "an Arkansas Grand Central Station -- a clearing house -- a `zone' into which and out of which... they can go and depart." In this imaginary world they stage pretend weddings, attend bar and bas mitzvahs, dress up as Indian scouts, and parade around in their Sunday best. To clarify the whimsical narratives Roller Wilson gives his paintings paragraph-long titles, portions of which are often inscribed on the works themselves, or along the frame linings. Fantastical story line aside, Roller Wilson's paintings are noteworthy for their exquisite execution. Painted in a classical Renaissance technique and presented in elaborate, individually designed gilded frames, his portraits offer an unlikely mix of highly skilled technical realism and an unimaginably rich fantasy world.
