This seems to be the favorite painting so far of everyone who has seen this series I’m working on. After my Father left us, my Mother returned to work and saved until she could buy her first car. It is the 1956 Chevy with the signature rounded tail fins in the photo I found with my sister Betsy and me standing in front of it.

Based on the photo, I started this painting with the painted background, in the same partly-painted technique I’ve been using in this series. I’ve always liked starting with a mid-tone for the background and then adding my light highlights and dark shadows. Then came the pencil sketch of the figures and car.

I started filling in the color in the figures.

The area of focus on this painting will probably be Betsy’s green snowsuit. Remember those one piece snowsuits we climbed into as kids? Next, I added color to the car. Luckily, I already had a little tester jar of Benjamin Moore paint named Tranquility that almost exactly matched the light blue green of the car.

I continued to add detail to the painting. I’m not happy with the faces yet and will work on those some more this week.

This series is all about memories of childhood, mostly mine, remembering some details and forgetting others. I don’t remember the plaid coat . . . but do remember the white fuzzy Angora hat!

Over the next two weeks I’ll post photos of the additional progress on the paintings in this series as I finish them for my solo show opening May 12th. The pressure is on now!

When Betsy and I were young kids we loved dressing up for Halloween. The big challenge each year was always what will I dress up as! what will I be! I found some delightful photos of Betsy dressed as the Easter Bunny for Halloween. There are two photos and she appears younger in one than in the other. But that bunny ear hat sure looks the same. I decided to combine them in my next painting. And there were those red boots again I’m thinking of focusing on in this painting too.

The wonderful old TV screams 1950s. I think it is an early Felix the Cat character on her goodie bag. I still have those Tupperware bowls her candy is in.

These are the beginning pencil sketches placing both Betsys on the background space.

The next addition to the painting places the younger Betsy with her Tupperware bowl of candy and those bunny ears.

As I’ve developed painting concepts for my upcoming solo exhibit, I’ve been focusing on painting the details of family photos. These close-ups show details I’ve added to the Ballerina and Snakes.

I’ve also painted part of myself out as the ballerina since I really don’t remember that recital. Just the dress.

I also started the focus painting that will greet each visitor to the gallery when thy enter the exhibit. It is Betsy again in this adorable sundress. She is just so cute in this photo as she runs toward you.

I begin with the painted mid-tone background and add a pencil sketch.

. . . and I then build on the painting, putting emphasis on the details of the sundress and the pearlescent beads on her socks.

I still have to work on her face and the parts of her that get painted away as some memory has faded.

My next painting is from a photo of Betsy with her Tupperware Easter Basket and bunny ears. How timely, since tomorrow is actually Easter. For inspiration, I guess I’ll go eat some of the chocolate Betsy just sent me. How appropriate since she is holding a piece of her Easter candy in the photo as if to offer it to me. I’ll be posting updates on this painting soon.

I continued to work on the tryptych of Betsy and my cousins. In a critique I was asked how I would feel painting over part of the paintings to suggest the faded parts of my memory of them. I took the paintings back to my studio. I sat and looked at them for a long time, then took a deep breath and painted over parts of the cousins. As suggested I kept things like the trycycle in sharper detail, since, like the red boots, I did remember some details from back then,

My friend Tracey stopped by to see the studio and really liked my ghosting back of the details. It did suggest those forgotten bits of memory of those days in the 1950s she thought. Below you can see how areas still show remembered details and parts fade away.