Mother's Day, 1972

As you can see this was painted a very long time ago. It shows a meal with the combined families of mine and JoAnn's. Her brother, Jack, took the photo, so he is not in the picture. We had this meal just before JoAnn, I, Glenn, and Bernelle ( all on the right) left for San Diego to start an evangelistic street theater. Its a large painting.

There were so many challenges to this painting that I can't remember them all. I struggled to give each person their correct likeness. I had to repaint Carol on the left because she didn't like the pose in the photo. She gave me another she liked better. There were light sources from the incandescent bulbs, which are orange, and the light from the windows, which is blue. The table cloth was lace! The glassware reflected and refracted. Some viewers have commented that it looks like the room is crooked, but in fact it is a trick of perspective. The far corner of the room was the farthest away so is smaller than the other corner. In any case, I liked the tilt because it kept the painting from what could have been very static. The people are horizontally straight.

By now the five at the end of the table have gone to be with the Lord. I sit and look at the painting as it hangs in our living room and wonder who will be next. In a way I cursed our family with this painting because no one will be able to throw it away and I can't change anything in it. It has become an icon.