Mid-Century Modern Mom

So Becky’s mom was a really fascinating lady, who lived a very tough life. Tough experiences in her early life led her to having to learn how to fight and assert. She came by it naturally. One of her ancestors was a major general in the Union Army in the Civil War.

But under all her crusty exterior was a kind, loving lady, who never stopped being an idealist. And I believe on the other side her ideals have become true. Becky had a dream about her one time after she died in which mom came back to her, and she basically told her that you don’t worry too much about this life when you’re up there.. She always wanted to be a nurse, and in Becky‘s dream, she was dressed like a nurse, perhaps getting to fulfill her hope and dream in heaven. Or maybe it was God’s way of saying to Becky that who she was meant to be in him is who she is now and that God never loses that---praise God.

So in this painting, Becky’s mom, accompanied by her off-camera dad has joined us from a very special liminal place in our walks in the bog. The look on her face says it all.. She’s happy she’s at peace and she gets to be as loving as she always wanted to be but never felt safe enough to in this life . But she feels safe now. And she checks in on her daughter from time to time making sure she’s having a good time.

Maybe that’s why we go to the bog so much.

This is part of a series of paintings I’m going to call “Smiling Eye-cons”. They’re double-faceted icons of loved ones, a portal between their lives up there and our lives down here. In these paintings, I will always try to focus on the eyes as a window to the soul. And the portal works both ways. It tells us what’s going on in their lives up there.. and we can influence what’s going on in their lives up there by painting them into a special place.

Or so I would like to believe.

Here’s to you, Agnes Birch, Cermak. May your memory be eternal. And looking forward to seeing you again at the bog.