My Favorite Things was conceived one day as I watched my own daughter play tea party with her favorite doll. It is quite delightful to see a little girl play as only little girls do. For this painting, my model was Sarah, whose mother I grew up with during my childhood. Sarah was very particular about wearing this dress and insisted it was best for tea parties. (Little girls know about these things).

The still life arranged around her set the scene with an air of nostalgia. I like to arrange my scenes with a long ago feeling, just to show the timelessness of a child’s imagination. As this little girl conducts her tea party, she is inviting all of us to enjoy and remember those simpler days when we, as children, could lose ourselves in pure imagination. - MW