Today I want to talk to you about a few things. First off, as it is Friday, I want to share a fun fact about one of my absolute favorite artists, Keith Haring. One of his most famous and popular images, the three eyed smiley face came about by accident. In October 1981, Haring was invited to paint directly on the wall of the Annina Nosei Gallery. He was participating in a group show of Neo Expressionist Painting, because in the early days, that’s how Haring’s work was categorized.

So he began painting. He started outlining the border and working his way in to fill out the composition. Keith was an artist who always brought a youthful, joyous spirit ot his work and he decided to pull some inspiration from his childhood. He thumbed through the pages of his old workbook and decided to paint following the instructions for a guided drawing of Mickey Mouse. He started with a large, grinning mouth then added one of Mickey’s oval eyes. Except he quickly realized he had rendered it off center. The eyes were too far apart, but he couldn’t exactly wipe it off the wall and start fresh. He compensated by adding a third eye to balance the composition in one of the most compelling proofs that Bob Ross was right in declaring "We don't make mistakes; we just have happy accidents."

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Keith Haring | Three Eyed Smiley Face