My Dad and My Dan

My Dad and Mom and all us kids 1958

I love this picture maybe because of his smile looking down on me. I never thought to ask him while he was alive, What was he thinking? Was his smile genuine or did the photographer set this up? I have a good feeling his smile was genuine.

This is him in the hospital waiting room. A professional photographer from the Pittsburgh Press was there to take photos. I'm glad for it because they probably wouldn't have these photos which I love so much.

Back then father's were kept out of the delivery room. They had a special waiting area where smoking and pacing the floor was common for the new dads to be.

He smoked Pall Malls unfiltered, three packs a day in his later years. His fingers had nicotine stains on his smoking fingers and dirt always under his nails from landscaping.

The Doctor giving Dad the good news... three healthy baby girls.

I wish I knew who he called first. He probably called home, where all my brothers and sister were waiting to know the news. maybe he called his brother who lived next door or his mother.

Don't ya love the phone booth! Just 51 years ago we sat in a booth with coins to call home. Telephone books were usually hanging from underneath. And an operator would assist you if you needed it. I'm so so old!

Proud daddy holding me just after my birth.

My dad died when I was a young woman. I was just 27 years old when he passed away. He was in his late 60's when he died. My father worked very hard all his life to provide for his family. He worked seven days a week, sometimes 12 hours a day. It's sometimes difficult to reflect on his presence in my life now that I am mature. As a child I loved to tell him stories. He always listened and laughed while I talked to him. I remember his laughter with fondness. As a teenager I really disliked him. He chased my friends away, drank to much, drove me crazy with his paranoid accusations, and he actually caused a lot of angst in my life at that time. I would wish he'd give me up to foster care. I even behaved badly hoping to help him throw me out, knowing I'd be happier somewhere else. He threw my other brothers and sisters out, why not me? He never threw me out no matter how bad I was.

Our own family snapshots and professional photos would include a real dad more like my own who before the twins were born decided to be the one to work hard, to worry for their well being, and be there when they needed loved, listened to, laughed with, spanked, fed, nutured, and cared for by a father who unconditionally loved them. I wish so much I could have realized this before my own father passed away. I wish I could thank him for being there and loving us and laughing with me and at me as a child.

Me and Dan and all our kids and grandkids 2007

Thanks for being there when they were born, for calling home when you were late, for running to the store when we ran out of diapers, for paying for their every need, and for your continued love and respect you give each of them.

Thank you, Dan for being a real Dad to all our kids.

A real Dad takes time to listen, laugh, and curl his tongue for a family photo.

Thanks for loving our kids unconditionally.

Meet my flock

These are my six surviving chicks at about 8 weeks old, guessing. The brown headed chick on the right is a rooster. You can see Honey Pie on the left, he lost a lot of those pretty feathers when his momma attacked him.

 

This is Honey Pie and Blondie at about 1 week old. They were my favorites from the start.

 

This is one of the chicks at 13 or 14 weeks old. She was just 3 days old when we adopted he with her mother and 6 other chicks.

 

This is Blondie. She is my favorite of the chicks. Her feathers are finally coming back after being attacked by her mother hen and other chicks. I introduced Blondie and Honey Pie to the new coop. Soon the other babies will join them.

 

This is Honey Pie, my first rooster, about 13 or 14 weeks old. He was beat up pretty badly by his mother hen. She had been caring for them until she laid an egg in the cage, one day later she was killing her babies and I had to take her from them. I separated the two most injured youngins because the other chicks were pecking these guys all to heck.

 

These are my first hens, Mother Teresa, who came to us with her 7 babies, and Miss Chiff, the part Polish hen in front. The first time I put them together in the small coop, they had each other by the throats. They were screaming and killing each other. Now they are best friends.

Growing up a Comito

Sharing a few vintage Comito photos for my sister and you, whoever you are.

I actually remember the outfits we are wearing. Navy blue polka dotted dresses with jackets! Loved this outfit so much!

 

Baby Becky and Jim

 

Becky and Chuck on McCasslin Street

 

Becky and Jim on Mcasslin Street

 

 

How cute are they! Becky, Jim, and Chuck with a cat I dont remember.

 

Jim and John

 

 

 

Daily Road

 

This is the yardsaling pic Becky was asking for.

 

The greatest day in the history of Comitos!

 

Blue Lightning!

 

 

 

Me and my sisters, Faith and Charity

 

Dad holding John, Chuck smiling behind dad.

 

 

Becky and Jim

 

Actually, this image shows Mary Nagy, not a comito until she married Leonard.

 

 

 

My grandmother on my dad's side. Wished I had known her better but my family is fudged up and deprived me of her. You can see more pics of Comitos and Bellini history on my flickr page . Click on the blue word flickr page.

 

My brother, John, who is the most awesome brother ever!

 

 

Painting Primitive Nests

Those blank canvases are getting painted finally! You can see I decided to go with nests and eggs for the theme on these six. My inspiration came from Helan Barrick's 1996 publication, Angel Twigs Book 2. The inside cover contains copyright information which allows for painting the designs for fun or profit but not mass production in any way. So I changed up the design a bit. All six are unique and similar at the same time.

No 1 Nest is extra grungy with tiny crackle and heavy antiquing. I stained the entire piece several times, scrubbing and sanding and crackling over the finished painting. This is my favorite of the group. Primitive folk art is my favorite art of all. The natural colors and aged looks reminds me of antique paintings.

No 2 Nest looks very similar but this one wasn't crackled at all. I sanded the front more and the frame structures is more evident in this painting. I used stretch canvas, gesso and acrylic paints. Once the painting was dry, I sanded it with coarse grit paper and then rubbed it with raw umber stain.

No 3 Nest looks very similar to no 2 but this one wasn't crackled and has light antiquing. I spattered the front more and the frame structures is more evident in this painting. This is actually my second favorite of the group. You can buy no 3 nest here.

This is Nest no 4 with a soft white wash, no antiquing, and very light spatter.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I really enjoy painting ans sharing my work with you.

Frida Kahlo Challenge

Frida Kahlo acrylic on canvas

She's my first Frida! I painted her as part of the Frida Kahlo Challenge at Gritty Jane's on facebook. The challenge has been such fun! I honestly didn't know much about this fascinating artist. The challenge helped me understand the character of Frida and the following she has around the world. Frida was passionate about painting. She suffered in pain and found paint as a pain killer. I have fallen in love with the artist and the followers who are inspired by her works. This is my first contribution to the challenge.

I wanted to capture her beauty without the pain but realized she is who she is because of the pain she endured in her adulthood. One of her original pieces shows her body punctured by nails or pins representing the pain from surgeries and heartbreak. I chose to dress her neck in the sharp tacks, though she often wore elaborate jewelry, this was my interpretation of her jewels. I found beauty in her smile.

She wore flowers in her hair and her eyes were very distinctly shaped, almost almond shaped and dark, and mysterious.

She painted self portraits showing her hair up mostly. Flowers and big bows adorned the top of her dark black hair like a crown. In researching her images I found a photograph of her with her hair down. Her hair in this piece was painted with pure black heavily applied by twisting the worn brush back and forth as I drew downward.

And to finish her trademark look I extended her eyebrows and dusted her upper lip with a mustache.

This is my first Frida. When I photograph my work, I notice all the things I could change. I am so tempted to repaint and touch up here or there. I need to walk away, sleep on it, return in the morning light, and let it go.

So I have... here at Dabbling In The Dew. Yea... she sold for around $2.00. Call me a starving artist.
I have been selling vintage collectibles in this etsy shop for a long time. Truthfully, I opened it originally to sell folk art and hand painted items. I had gotten away from painting for such a long time. There was a time I painted everyday, on canvas, floor cloths, wood, furniture, and walls. I was so passionate about painting, like Frida, but I stopped at some point for what I am not certain. I'm just glad to be able to paint again. It feels good to scrub a canvas with gesso and create something from a glob of color.
I hope you like my return to painting. 

Painting Taylor's Portrait

I'm a painter at heart. My first passion has been to paint and I am willing to paint on almost any surface. I have been painting since all my life. My mother is an artist and she encouraged us at a very young age to be creative and use our talents. Painting has been one of those talents I wasn't using for many years.

Things are changing in my studio. I moved my etsy inventory into a smaller room and decided to make the studio into a real artist working space. And then I primed a bunch of canvases, ready for creating! I'd already painted my great nephews portrait a few weeks ago and wanted to do more. Taylor's portrait would be next.

I have this black and white grainy image to work with. I like the pose and I wanted the challenge of painting a side portrait. So, this is it. This is the image I used.

First, I sketched the outlines and contours of her face. If I messed this up, the painting would look like someone elses most adorable little girl... not Taylor. stressed! But happy at the same time.

And then I outlined the image with sienna, just to get a good feel for her facial porportions. I'm a beginner portrait artist... and honestly.. I love the tones in this and the simple unfinished look. I was ready to call it finished!

add color! Aghhh... I am so nervous at this point.

And then I keep painting and start to hate what I have done. I can see I lost the features of Taylor's face. Her nose is in the wrong place, her cheek is all wrong, this doesn't look like Taylor! Back to the drawing board!

and there ya go! That's sooo much better!

I'm pretty happy with this. There's a few things I would change, her eyes need some shadowing on the upper lids, and maybe a little shading on her cheeks but over all I think this is good for a #2 child's portrait.
Next!?