Tribute to Mom

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday. I owe much of my artistic ability to her. She was the first person I ever knew who painted pictures. She was also my first art teacher. She taught me from those "how to draw" books (the ones that teach you to draw boxes, circles, cones and then make them dimensional with shading) when I was only seven or eight years old.

My first acrylic paint was leftover house paint that my mom had saved for me to use. She allowed me to paint with the house paint on newsprint utilizing our bathroom counter as a surface to hold my painting. There I could paint to my heart's content. One of the first paintings I remember creating was of a hen and her chicks. She taught me to see the heart shape of the hen's body and the circle shapes of the baby chicks around her.

I love the smell of oil paint and turpentine. My first experience with oils was the paint-by-number set I received one Christmas. I guess you can see from my painting style that I still like to stay within the lines.

I attribute my love of gardening, flowers and small creatures to my mother. She and my brother built a goldfish pond when I was small. My brother, sister and I spent many hours watching the goldfish and playing with the small creatures that came to the pond.

The Water Garden Series is a visual tribute to those precious memories from my childhood.


Water Garden Friends
11" x 14"
acrylic on canvas



Thanks mom for all these wonderful memories!