The other day I watched a documentary on the situation in Brazil. There is a lot of news coverage around here these days concerning the plight of so many underprivileged in Brazil, and in the context of the World Cup, which starts tomorrow.

It was a depressing show. So much poverty and obvious corruption . . . and this is in one of the world’s booming countries?

I’m not going to make this post a political one. It’s certainly not for lack of caring, but more because there are millions out there doing just that.

Instead, I’m posting a new creation, something that reminds me of the hot and colorful images one often sees of Brazil, usually around Mardi Gras days.

It’s the first in a series I’m calling “Sum 14”, short for Summer 2014.This series is all based on a rather large base picture, from which I take smaller components and turn them into separate pieces . . . it’s much more than just cropping . . . you will see that by looking at the larger picture through this link, on one my Pinterest boards, “My Original Art”.

So given the events unfolding in Brazil – the World Cup – it seems only right to call this first in a series “The Beautiful Game”! Here it is, and perhaps in what is often the case with art, it is my expression of a hope for a peace, this time at an event in Brazil. I’m not at all optimistic about that, but at least the picture is somewhat cheery: