There is nothing like the love of two sisters. This is my mother and aunt. Mom moved from Ely, MN to Mpls., MN this summer and this was one of her last days spent in the same home town with her sister. They lived in this same town all their lives and never moved away from each other. Now, mom lives 4 hours north of her sister in Minneapolis. Mom was very sad to leave her sister. I know she misses her terribly so I painted this as a loving memory for mom for Christmas. It was painted from a photo I snapped this past summer and is a sweet memory I think they will always cherish! I also got to thinking perhaps this is something my daughter and her children and my aunt and her children and so forth down the line will enjoy one day. It is part of a legacy in the making....
Tomorrow, January 4, 2012, mom is coming for a visit. She flew from Minneapolis., Minnesota where her new/summer home is to Zephryhills, FL where she has a second/winter home and is then coming to stay with me for a few days here in Orlando, Florida. I am going to give this painting to her and I know she will be so happy. I can't wait to see her and I can't wait to give this to her. I wonder what her reaction will be?
This painting is a memory I, too, have of my visit to Ely, Minnesota. This is also my home town that I grew up in. Notice the house in the background. Everyone has houses similar to this in this small town of 3500 people. This town is the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that borders Canada and Minnesota. The town is right on the border of Canada and Minnesota. This past summer I went up to help mom get settled in her new surroundings. I got to see my aunt as well and I snapped this photo real quick while we were there briefly because we spent most of our time at mom's new home in Minneapolis where I painted a mural for her in her new abode. I really didn't think about doing a painting at that time or I would have fussed over lighting and so on and so forth. You know how it is. But sometimes you don't realize memories are being made until you are down the road a bit. That's okay, too. It's never too late to create a permanent memory in oil paints, regardless of the photo quality. After all, as a painter, you can massage the data and manipulate the paints any which way you wish. Well, of course except when it comes to the actual faces, naturally. If I massaged that data, I would venture to say mom and Aunt Honey would not be happy campers! Unless of course I made them look 20 years younger, wouldn't you say? Well, I might have made them look a tiny bit younger. Their youth has been renewed like the eagle's! This reminds me of Psalm 103:2-5:
"Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
(emphasis mine)
May all your memories made this new year be happy and filled with joy.
Love and blessings,
Laura
P.S. Speaking of mom and Minnesota, I thought I'd add a picture of the mural I painted for mom's dining area in her new condo in Minneapolis this summer as well. It was so fun to be able to add a little atmosphere and warmth to her new place during my stay with her. This is after Thomas Kinkaid, the painter of light. Mom likes his paintings. Maybe someday I will be as successful as he is. Woo hoo! :)
There is nothing like the love of two sisters. This is my mother and aunt. Mom moved from Ely, MN to Mpls., MN this summer and this was one of her last days spent in the same home town with her sister. They lived in this same town all their lives and never moved away from each other. Now, mom lives 4 hours north of her sister in Minneapolis. Mom was very sad to leave her sister. I know she misses her terribly so I painted this as a loving memory for mom for Christmas. It was painted from a photo I snapped this past summer and is a sweet memory I think they will always cherish! I also got to thinking perhaps this is something my daughter and her children and my aunt and her children and so forth down the line will enjoy one day. It is part of a legacy in the making....
Tomorrow, January 4, 2012, mom is coming for a visit. She flew from Minneapolis., Minnesota where her new/summer home is to Zephryhills, FL where she has a second/winter home and is then coming to stay with me for a few days here in Orlando, Florida. I am going to give this painting to her and I know she will be so happy. I can't wait to see her and I can't wait to give this to her. I wonder what her reaction will be?
This painting is a memory I, too, have of my visit to Ely, Minnesota. This is also my home town that I grew up in. Notice the house in the background. Everyone has houses similar to this in this small town of 3500 people. This town is the gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that borders Canada and Minnesota. The town is right on the border of Canada and Minnesota. This past summer I went up to help mom get settled in her new surroundings. I got to see my aunt as well and I snapped this photo real quick while we were there briefly because we spent most of our time at mom's new home in Minneapolis where I painted a mural for her in her new abode. I really didn't think about doing a painting at that time or I would have fussed over lighting and so on and so forth. You know how it is. But sometimes you don't realize memories are being made until you are down the road a bit. That's okay, too. It's never too late to create a permanent memory in oil paints, regardless of the photo quality. After all, as a painter, you can massage the data and manipulate the paints any which way you wish. Well, of course except when it comes to the actual faces, naturally. If I massaged that data, I would venture to say mom and Aunt Honey would not be happy campers! Unless of course I made them look 20 years younger, wouldn't you say? Well, I might have made them look a tiny bit younger. Their youth has been renewed like the eagle's! This reminds me of Psalm 103:2-5:
"Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
(emphasis mine)
May all your memories made this new year be happy and filled with joy.
Love and blessings,
Laura
P.S. Speaking of mom and Minnesota, I thought I'd add a picture of the mural I painted for mom's dining area in her new condo in Minneapolis this summer as well. It was so fun to be able to add a little atmosphere and warmth to her new place during my stay with her. This is after Thomas Kinkaid, the painter of light. Mom likes his paintings. Maybe someday I will be as successful as he is. Woo hoo! :)