GRANDMA'S ATTIC

"Grandma's Attic"

This oil painting is one of five paintings that won People's Choice Award consecutive years at the Prairie Skies Art Show & Auction that was held at the Ramada Inn, Bismarck, ND. 

The Art Show & Auction was started by a wonderful promoter of the arts, Nola Helm, (a former Bowman native) for the ND Nurses Association. It was a great show, with a quick draw, artist's exhibit rooms, and a live auction. We met so many people through that show that we still keep in touch with today. Nola went on to do another similar art show in Nevada, which I also participated in.

The idea for the painting came from memories I had of being at my grandmother's home in Minnesota. 

First of all, the raggedy ann dolls were borrowed to me from a good friend who collected them, they were wonderful to work with, where you sat them, they stayed! I propped them on an old trunk that belonged to Rob's great aunt Nita and sat them up against an old leather suitcase that was my dad's. I was working on the painting while the late summer flowers were out, so I went out to the ranch and brought in prairie flowers. The last one to place in the painting (by photo reference) was the kitten "Annie". 

The idea for the shadow of the little girl was Rob's idea, I worked from a photo of my cousin Becky's daughter Nicole, added a hat and a bear (which my friend pointed out right away, the trunk hardware, made the eyes and the nose!) (wasn't intended)

We then framed the piece in an old antique frame my friend found at an antique store, with stains of the same color as the painting.

The collector saw it at the Watertown Wildlife & Western Show, purchased it over the phone at the auction for his wife for their newly remodeled home in South Dakota.

Grandma's Attic
16x20
Oil On Board
In Private Collection