First Christmas in America

I wanted to document this particular time Christmas 1950, our first Christmas in America...I do remember it because my mom asked if we could have a small tree. Of course there where no good trees to pick from a day before Xmas. All the trees left here small and dry, by the time we reached home most all the needles where gone...so now I recognize this tree to be a Charlie Brown Tree...my mom had made a couple of cutout paper ornaments and hung them.

We received a small gift box with miniature plastic furniture and we each got a Mr.Peanut filled with little candies. So making the best out of a situation we learned to appreciate everything, even the smallest of things...as a child it was an important lesson.

Our home in America

I'm getting ready to go on a vacation for 10 days...so have not had much time to think about painting...the sun came out today, so painted this.
In this scene we are in San Leandro California at our sponsors house, exhausted from our train trip, which oddly enough I can not remember...the only thing I do remember is arriving in Oakland late at night, and our sponsor picking us up and then going to a Lucky's grocery store for food (did he not think of this before?) The house he lived in was a Shaker style home, very minimal furniture, not even sheets on our beds...a very bachelor home. Needless to say my mom was not happy, I really think he was looking for a bride...but NOT my mom!
At this house he had two Cocker Spaniels, one named Blondie the other Goldie, neither really liked my sister and me. So the painting is of us sitting on the stoop with the dogs by us. I remember thinking how warm it was before Christmas, which was a week away in this image.

processing at Ellis Island

Today I wondered why in the hell I started this series, knowing well I will not have enough references for what I wanted...I had to conjure up my imagination (throwing me back to the details and nitpicking)
This painting shows the morning we arrived at Ellis Island. I had forgotten that's where we where processed, until I saw a documentary on Ellis Island and it gave me a flashback.

This scene is ingrained in my memory because of what happened there. My sister and I had my dad's cameras around our necks, however I did not question why we had to have them under our coats, and the instructions not to let anyone see them, we just followed orders. When the man came to check our baggage and cedar chest he looked at me and I immediately noticed mom looking at me in a panic, she was looking at the straps of the cameras showing. I was horrified as I knew I had done something wrong. Mom looked at the guy, he smiled at mom and then walked away, she in turn went and talked to him...I never did know why these camera's would have been an issue...but the guy chose to ignore them.

In the painting I'm sitting on mom's cedar chest, she had painted the Virgin Mary on it (we aren't even Catholic), I guess maybe they would not check the chest if that was on it...well they checked the chest anyway...no problem. Maybe the war made mom paranoid and this was the outcome.

first day of school

Yesterday was a busy day so didn't paint, then last night we where invited to a dress rehearsal comedy Musical Play, "Mid Life Crisis" where my dear friend and fellow artist Larry Schultz performed...not only does he perform in plays he also paints the stage scenery...so talented. The play was so funny and the laughing and smiling for two hours probably caused me to have more facial wrinkles...but it feels sooo good to laugh!
OK, the sun came out for an hour and I scrambled to paint...because I was in such a hurry I forgot to Gesso the board, and decided to gesso over the drawing...then completed my painting.

Here sis and I are standing in front of a Brune(water trough for the cattle) having our photo taken for the first day of school. In Germany you get this huge tube filled with candy, and a leather bag you wear on your back filled with school supplies...you can barely see it on my sister(R) the sponge rag hanging out of the pack.
I want to note, eventhough these paintings are tonal, I can remember the colors of the outfits we wore...odd cause I can barely remember what I did an hour ago...

hiking path up the mountain

This scene is of us climbing up to the side of the mountain, and along the pathway picking flowers. There where red poppies, blue cornflowers, yellow daisies and many more colorful flowers, it always made a colorful bouquet. When we reached our destination which was a quaint restaurant nestled in the side of the mountain...we would have cake and coffee. Here you could look down upon the town of Garmisch and Partenkirchen It took a better part of the day walking up this mountain. Passing cows and sheep grazing, birds singing in the fields, frogs in the tiny snow melting streams...

Now you ask, why the frilly dresses and shoes? well this was a photo op day for the photographer who made postcards of us....normally we would have pants and hiking shoes on.

Check out my webpage on the trip back to Garmisch.

watching ship SS Washington 1950

Today it's sunny and bright, record temps of almost 60 degrees, but we are expecting snow at the end of the week...

I must go out and clean the deck where my Kitty had used it as a toilet during the piled up snow...oh no she couldn't have gone down the stairs in all that snow below.

I started this painting late in the day, and it's really is out of sequence in year...this was in the port of Hamburg Germany, we where watching the famed ship SS WASHINGTON in the harbor...We came to America on this ship to Ellis Island in Dec.1950.

at the Park and concert

This is hard forcing myself to paint everyday...for me it's about the sun, I like painting with the sun out... I am determined to at least get this series done.

So here in this image we are at a fountain in a Garmisch Park about 1946, visiting there every weekend, listening to the concerts for the American soldiers...it was a beautiful place to see and enjoying wonderful music while visiting with friends. My mom worked for the American PX and at the Army Base teaching German, she spoke fluent English(she learn the language while traveling with the R.B.B.Circus in America) and was lucky to have had this job, making many friends, actually finding us a sponsor to the U.S. through one of the soldiers.

on a swing

This painting is from the time we migrated to Garmisch in the Bavarian Alps ... we where fleeing the bombings from the North...It took two weeks by train that normally takes three hours to get to this destination because of the war.

My mom designed every dress we wore when we where young, she had them made and then hand stitched flowers or designs on them.

It was spring time and the dresses where yellow with berets...and yes, we loved swinging at our friends house.

on the steps of Gross Stein Castle

I will be doing these in tonal because I can't remember this time in my life in color, when I was about five I started to remember things in color...maybe these photos have something to do with it...I don't know.
This painting was actually done a few days ago...scene is on the steps of Gross Stein Castle...showing my father, me and my sister, we are about 2 years old...it amazed me to see that we where all dressed in nice clothing including a cap with sox and shoes, this during the war. My dad has his arm in a sling, I asked my mom once if he was wounded , she said no, that he had sores on his arm...how funny. These images are from small photos that I have, some can be viewed in my Squidoo lens. This one starting out with the sketch, then laid down some color...finishing the painting...well at least I think it's finished...a little touch up I'm sure.

Baptism Berlin Germany "Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche"

I'm going to post my paintings a day on this blog site...Although I have done three to four miniature paintings a day, I am not always painting. I am after all a woman, this comes with moods, such as the mood of changing my mind at the drop of a hat! Yes, I will get all my things out to paint, sit down and loose interest...so be it!

I have started to paint a series of "My life as I see it from the start", (that title can change if the mood strikes me)...these paintings are a reflection of my life making me the person that I am today.
The first image is of my Baptism in Berlin Germany at the famed "Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche" (Memorial Church).
I had deleted the progress of this painting, so can only show the finished image above, (acrylic size 4" x 6").

And when the mood strikes me, I will occasionally throw in a painting of my favorite subject, the horse.
This blog will be listed at my squidoo.com lens, where you can see more images/photographs and read related webpages on all the subjects displayed here.