Stairway art, part 1.
I’ll do part 2 tomorrow as I didn’t get a particularly crisp picture of that part of the wall.
The “Life is Very Short”….finger is a new piece made to look old. I got it at the Country Living Fair several years ago as a present for Don.
Next to it, a modern print that Don loves.
Above and to the left, an oil painted by my Great-aunt Ruth. She was a talented artist. This hung in my grandmother’s home for years.
Next to that a cow print that we love.
Above the cow print, a little framed piece that I found in an antique shop and a piece of architectural salvage.
To the right: two oil paintings by my dad. The top painting is of a beach and waves breaking on rocks. The other, below it, is of our cottage. My dad painted this for us right after we moved in. What makes this especially delightful is the yellow exterior. Our exterior is a green-gray, but Dad looked at the photo and thought it was yellow.
Top row, on the left: a Norman Rockwell print of Main Street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, including the building in which he had a studio.
Next to that, a very old landscape that we found in San Diego. It needs a good cleaning, but I sort of love its dark tones.
Next to that, another oil painting by my Aunt Ruth, this time of their childhood home on the family farm in Orillia, Ontario.
________
It’s rainy and gray today. Most of the snow is gone. We may be getting more tomorrow night. We’re headed to the grocery store this morning and will be running a few errands, as well.
We watched Stagecoach on TCM last night. It’s one of my favorite movies. Don was reluctant, but I managed to persuade him and, in the end, he loved seeing it again. A great old John Ford movie with a very young John Wayne and a cast of wonderful actors. It’s my favorite John Wayne performance and Claire Trevor breaks my heart, every darned time.
Happy Tuesday.
what talents your family has, too! glad you have and display some of the art they made. things like that turn a house into a home, in my opinion … the unique and personal things from/of/ about those we love, lovely reminders of their love, too!
thanks for sharing more of the art in your home.
i am home today. fell on some ice last night and hurt my left wrist, elbow and backside. thankfully nothing is broken (i fractured that wrist four years ago), but i have a wrap, splint and sling to wear for a couple weeks. bleh.
be careful out there!
kathy in iowa
Oh, Kathy!! Ice is the absolute worse thing!! Glad you are able to stay home and rest. Take care of yourself and don’t over-do it!!!! ♡
hej, chris k …
oops … i replied, just not in the right place. see below, if you like.
kathy in iowa
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this, Kathy. I’m relieved to hear that nothing is broken, but I imagine you’re in pain. Stay home, stay safe, my friend. xo
Oh no! I have a deep respect for ice…it can take one out very easily. Be careful out there. Rest up, and take care. Hope you are feeling better in a couple of days! ;)
to donnamae …
thanks for your good wishes.
and yeah … need to have respect for and good eyes to see ice. ugh.
it will take a bit, but the pain will decrease and the range of motion will increase. i’ll be glad for that. and if the “winter-y mix” forecast for later today just doesn’t happen.
hope you are well and happy a nice day!
kathy in iowa
thanks, claudia … appreciate your kind wishes.
not today, but it will get better.
hope you and don have a great day today and watch the weather, avoid ice!
I have always loved the “Life is very short” Beatles themed piece you have. Fun!! Everything on that wall is so lovely.
We had about 7 inches of snow on Sunday and about 3 more being called for tomorrow night. Then below zero temps to follow. ugh. But the sun is shining today and that is a very good thing.
Have a great Tuesday!
Too much snow! We have very cold temps coming on Friday and Saturday, the very days I have to be in Hartford walking around in what is already a very windy city.
I’m glad the sun is shining for you!
Love all photos of your house. I’m going to try to keep coming up with these — he gives us plenty of material: “Dangerous Dotard, lock him up.” “Savage imbecile, lock him up.” Didn’t I see recently in the comments that someone said their friend/relative liked trump due to his support of the military?! Wonder what they think of his treatment of the Vindmans; wonder what they think of his comments re: soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injury — “I’ve seen worse . . . it’s like a headache.” (For sure TBI is not nearly as serious as bone spurs. ha!) Hate to say this, but when they go low, we must now go lower. Lock him up, Lock him up, Lock them all up! Your like minded friend you’ve never met.
I agree.
Those that support him because of his support for the military are deluded, of course. And his recent behavior proves it. It was also proved during his campaign when he made fun of a Gold Star family and when he attacked John Cain. ANYONE who thinks that Trump is working for them or cares about them are in for a big shock. The only person he cares about is himself. PERIOD.
to chris k …
thank you very much!
hyperextended joints with pulled muscles and ligaments so they’ll take a while to heal, but it sure could have been worse. thanks to God, my sister was there last night and helped me. :)
i know you know how slippery snow (especially wet and packed snow) can be and it often comes with that dreadful ice … so you be careful, too!
good luck with all that snow.
hope you’re having a good day.
kathy in iowa
I love this wall. Your aunt is quite talented. Do you or Don paint…maybe I missed that fact as I am early to the blog. I enjoyed Stockbridge also. We did the museum and ate at the place-Red Lion maybe-at least twice…mine was not too expensive-vegetarian…lovely place. I probably have the name of the place we ate wrong.
We were studying Shakespeare for a month at Shakespeare and Company-another story indeed-can’t compare to the month at The Folger’s in D.C.
One of my favorite places in Mass…besides Harvard/Cambridge/Boston/the Cape…etc…is Williamstown, Mass. Spent a week there once and then a few days. I do love the Cape…spent a week there at Hyannis-a teacher thing also. We did whale watching trip…JFK museum, etc. Saw the Kennedy’s home…spoke to Ted Kennedy as he got his mail…I love love Massachusetts-one of my favorite of the 40 plus states I have visited. \I have rattled…
No you’re right. It’s the Red Lion Inn.
Don was in Pygmalion at the Williamstown Theater Festival a few years back and I got to spend some time there with him. It’s lovely. And as you know, I worked in Boston for 5 years, and lived in Cambridge. I loved it there. I only left because I was underpaid. But my memories of that area, and of the Cape are very fond ones. I’ve also spent a lot of time in the Berkshires, where I have coached and Don has worked several times. It’s a wonderful state.
No, neither Don or I paint. Thanks, Brenda.
Your artistic abilities -both of you- quite evident in the decorating of your lovely home.
xo
What a wonderful and personal wall. I so love this series of art shares that one day I might have to do something similar. It’s fun to see what’s in people’s homes but more so WHY it is there, whether it is sentimental attachment, a gift, something dearly loved or surprisingly found. Thanks for this!
You’re very welcome, Jeanie!
You have such lovely paintings. Your father was a talented painter. Glad your snow has gone.
Marilyn
My dad was very talented in many areas, but I’m especially fond of his oil paintings. It’s a strong memory for me – watching him paint in our living room. Thank you, Marilyn!
What an interesting and lovely wall. I haven’t read all the comments, so don’t know if this has been asked and answered…did you hang all those items at the same time, or have they, too, been collected over time?
Been busy today, so I am late in reading. Enjoy your evening! ;)
We collected all the pieces over time, but we hung everything up at the same time. Thanks, Donnamae.
Love your art wall and it’s always fun to see it again and new additions. Hope you and Don are doing well. Hugs!
Hope you are well, my friend. Thinking of you. xoxo
A wonderful variety of pieces and so special to have some from your great-aunt and your talented father!! I too love how he saw your house as a sunny yellow! My mom at some point in her pre-mom life went to art school and we have a few of her air-brush paintings. When I was a pre-teen I loved ice bergs and oceans (which I still do) and she did a wonderful oil for me of that subject. She also painted a long lovely cherry branch across the wall of my parents’ bedroom a la 60s TV show (might have been Dick Van Dyke or I Love Lucy). And late in her life, her mom took up oil painting and we have some of her work. They are not masterpieces but they mean a lot to me and my sisters. I go to friends’ houses sometimes and they have attractively decorated homes with up to date art that compliments and matches their decor and it looks like a magazine layout, but there’s no history and no personal touch and it all seems like it could be swapped out in one feel swoop when the trend changes or they change their wall color. It’s lovely to be in, but I couldn’t be without my quirky wonky sweat-stained needlepoint from my teenage years or my grandmother’s not perfect perspective vase of yellow roses or the snapshot of my uncle and his troop at the foot of the Eiffel Tower when Paris was liberated. Your collection is much more thoughtfully curated than mine, but it is all expressive of you and Don and the important people and places in your lives. That’s what makes it magical. I love this art tour!! Perhaps there will come a time in your life where you will take up brush and paint. It’s in your blood it seems.
That kind of art – with a story and a family history – is priceless and far more interesting than art that is chosen to match an interior!
Thank you, Nora.