One of My College Thesis Paintings

Below is one of the paintings I did for my college thesis in 2002 (wow, was it really that long ago!). I called the series 'Portals to the Past' and did 12 large paintings of homes our families, including ancestors, lived in. The homes were faded like the memories, but the more vibrant flowers of the present still brings back those memories.

For instance, my maternal grandparents had huge lilac bushes along their driveway. The smell of lilacs to this day triggers memories of visiting them in the spring and seeing the beautiful purple flowers as we drove up the drive. When I would spend the night I could smell the fragrance as the evening breezes entered through the window into the bedroom where I was resting.

This painting happens to be the home my DH grew up in and lived in while we were dating. His great grandfather built the house. His grandparents and his parents raised their families in that house. This is the house that used to stand where we now have our Aronia berries planted. Unfortunately it was not maintained by the occupants and had to be demolished a year ago. Many tears have been shed by those who have precious memories in that home.

This and other family homes will become part of my CQJP 2012. I didn't get good copies of many of the paintings and actually gave all but one of them away. I will either need to go around and photograph them or recreate new paintings. Either way, my crazy quilt journal project will result in a quilt of fond memories and a record of the past.