Then and Now

Thought I'd add another painting that I've recently done. This is an oil painting on canvas that I made. (Very fun to make my own canvas!). This painting is of me and 3 of my brothers when we were 1,2,3 and 4! Now that's a handful. I actually remember the day this was taken. My dear aunt was watching up and she scrubbed us all up and put our p.j.'s on and took the picture. We always had fun with my aunt. Then I decided to paint what we look like today. It was kind of fun to see the differences, and sad too. I think year 24 was my best! :)

This painting is 4 feet by 3 feet.

Putting the Pieces together

What to do with my pieces of stained glass?? I know, I'll make a mosaic piece. Not just any piece. A coffee table. yeah, that's it. Hours and hours later....taa dahhh! My mosaic coffee table!

Hope you enjoy it. I had a great time working on it. My back, however, not so much!

I love the colors that are in this. I used black grout which really made the colors pop that much more. This is a very heavy duty solid wood piece of furniture.

The painting I wanted to talk about today is an oil painting 2 ½’ x 3’. It is of my brother in law who is currently serving in the military and made two tours so far in Iraq. He is a very patriotic guy and loves his country. I wanted to do a special painting for him to show him that I appreciate all that he and his family has sacrificed for me. He really is a special. What he did in Iraq inspired the meaning behind this painting. He received the bronze star this last time there. When I asked what he did to receive it, all he has ever said was it was for a particularly loud day.
Of course being in the military, they have to wear “who yah” clothes over there to protect themselves. I saw a picture of him with this uniform on and wanted to use it in a painting. The children that are placed around him are not necessarily the children of Iraq although that is what it may appear to be. I meant it more as children of the world though. He loves kids. He is fighting for the freedoms of these children. I wanted it to represent more of what these kids will hope to have as a future because people like my brother in law have gone and do go over to Iraq and other places as well to fight for freedom.
My brother in law is proud of this country and I wanted to show him I was proud of him.
The green colors were used mostly because it went with his uniform, but if you want to get real artsy, I guess it could be for the growing and living feeling that green gives us.
I am not particularly deep, so that’s about as good as it gets!
I do know I love the guy and all he does for our country.

Feb. 29, 2008
I decided I would start talking about some of my paintings to keep track of what actually made me do some of them, or the idea behind them.
The first painting that I thought I would write about was one I finished in December.
It is actually a picture of my niece Mackenzie. I did it for my sister. Mackenzie is a special little girl to me. I was there the day she was born. I was the first one to see her. Perhaps it’s because I was butting my way in front of her father, I’m not really sure! We were in the delivery room; I had traveled from Illinois to New York to be with my sister for her birth. I had already been there for two weeks and I had to leave. I was trying all sorts of things to get that child born before I had to leave. I will only talk about one or two. My sister would kill me if I divulged much more. I had that poor girl drinking cod liver oil and well, doing things she’d really rather not be doing J
Anyway, finally, it was time. The room was so dry, that each time I tried to comfort my sister I would give her an electric shock. She was getting annoyed at me; I was trying to “be there” for her. And well….let’s say, we needed a humidifier in there. I would touch her or try to rub her back and she would yell “Owww!” Occasionally, giving me dirty looks.
Long story short, my darling niece was born. I will love that child till the day I die. So, back to the painting…Her wonderful daddy was sent to Iraq for the second time. Now those two are extremely close. I wanted to give them both something to keep with them. I had one of those little lockets made where the heart is broke in two. On one half I had Dad engraved, on the other half, Kenz. She had dad, he had Kenz, then they would have each others heart and when he got back they could connect it and their hearts would be one again. Notice in the painting there is a locket on it says the word “Dad”. He ended up putting it on his dog tags. Mushy yes, but hey, it was an emotional time. Anyway, I bet your wondering where the painting comes in….patience, this, is how I talk J my niece has always been a pink fan. Everything pink, and of course, she is a princess. Now that she is getting older and because she wanted her room repainted, she decided to be a teal fan. When you look at the painting, that is why there is now a pretty teal shirt, but draped around her neck is a pink necklace with the words, I love mommy. She does love her mommy and they are the best of buddies, that is, unless daddy is around! She is meant to be laying all sprawled out on the floor because, this is Kenz. She has long beautiful dark hair, she is full of energy and her eyes just dance, especially, when she is up to something!
As you can tell, I put a lot of thought into this painting. If you know of someone who would love to have their special story told, we can talk and work up some ideas. My sister says she takes her friends into the living room and says, with her arms stretched out like a museum curator, Now, this painting, was done by my aunt!
I believe it will be around for quite a while!