My next drawing for a postcard to my parents was from a picture I took while we were walking around in Joshua Tree last Christmas. I thought my parents might never go see the nearby National Park, so I would give them a glimpse of it.
I really tried to capture the glow of the sun setting and hitting the rock formations.
My second postcard was based on the designs of the leaded glass windows at the house I grew up in in Oak Park. I thought they would appreciate a bit of the house they made a home from 1973-2021. So I went back on my phone and found a picture I took of a window during my last visit to the house in January 2021.
There were so many moments of my life and childhood looking through these windows. They truly were the frame around my view of the world growing up. Maybe it is the most formative image layered on my childhood. Does it tie into why I want to have art and creativity in my life? Does growing up in that house shape how I look at what makes a home or what is good architecture? It wasn’t a plain old pane of glass, but faceted and composed. It was a layer of home that was visible between me and the world.
It was pretty special to have that be a part of my growing up. And I realize that more now.
For Christmas of 2023 I bought my dad a watercolor set and some blank postcards. My intention was to send my parents an original image on a postcard each week. And I gave my dad supplies to do the same.
I have not kept up with my weekly deadline very consistently, and I have realized a gift that includes homework is not always successful. So I have not gotten any postcards from my father, but I am going to be posting the images I sent my parents.
Here is the first one I sent:
For Thanksgiving in 2023, we went to New York City to have it in McKelvey’s apartment for her senior year. While we were there, we went to the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade. This postcard is based off of an image I took from the sidewalk during the parade.
I actually finished it in Palm Springs December 2023, in the hotel we were staying at. I went to the front desk to find out where a Mail box was, and they offered to drop it in the mail for me. But it never arrived at my parents house. So this is its introduction to the world.