:Art…and my dad
Posted: April 19, 2008 Filed under: Art and Photography, DRambles on Black Mountain 2 CommentsAfter mom died in 1997, my sisters put me in charge of the family photos. These, along with ‘memories in bits and pieces’ were organized and filed ten years ago. Yesterday doing homework for the Library of Memories class, knee deep in memorabilia, ephemera, photos and personal memories, I came upon the following card in the dad folder.
Inside the card..
My dad was nine years old in 1942. That is not his handwriting. I wondered about the significance of the card. Why was it saved? Who sent it? I shared the card and my questions with our friends Kevin and Melissa as we feasted on Chinese take-out. They suggested it was an art project with assistance from a teacher. That would explain the handwriting. Palmer method, for sure. A light bulb went on! Could dad have drawn the picture? Quickly I retrieved two wood burnings by dad…
It’s a barn and farm implements with mountains and pine trees in the background. The scan isn’t great, but look at the style. Look at the trees. Look at the snow on the trees. Look at the snow on the ground.
Here’s a piece he titled…
This was done looking out the bay window in the kitchen of the farm house, the house where my sister Lori now lives. Notice the two cats sleeping in the window. Look at the trees, cottonwoods instead of pines. Look at the snow on the ground.
Katy, Kevin and Melissa’s daughter is also an artist. She’s been asked to illustrate a book. There was no question in their minds that the three pieces were done by the same person. And that a talented nine-year old could easily draw with skill.
What do you think?
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 
I have no doubt, that’s Dad’s drawing. Not only are the trees the key, notice the smoke coming out of the chimney. He also had a great eye for perspective, something he pointed out to me in my drawings at a very young age.
The handwriting is a mystery to me. I do recall mom telling me “your dad had great penmanship at one time”. I see some familiarism in how it was signed ‘Boyd’. The style of the y and d.
I have my doubts that a teacher wrote this for him, only because there are two blank lines after the ‘and’. I say this due to being drilled in grand school to skip a line.
Thanks Deb for blogging this! I found it interesting to see he’s work at that age!! I haven’t seen this card, I’m amazed it survived in wonderful condition for all these years!!!
Kelly
I don’t recall coming across this card either, but then that’s not surprising given the amount of…to put it nicely…’stuff’ we had to sort through…and it looks to be in excellent condition! I’m am not an artist but have to agree with everyone else that it appears to have been drawn by dad. I can’t quite make out what is written underneath his signature. Is it the date? This is a good reminder of how important it is to identify and date things for future generations. Guess I’d better start organizing the box of artwork I have that my kids have done!