Desert Sunset: This painting hangs above Grandma’s bed and is one of her favorites.

Last night I was taking pictures of some of Grandma’s paintings.  She asked what I was doing so I explained that I had shared photos of her paintings with some people and had received such a positive response that I wanted to share more.

Her response was typical Norma:

“Do they like ’em because they really like ’em or do they like ’em because I’m an old lady?”

“Probably a little bit of both, Grandma”

Desolate: This painting was never finished, but I like where it was going.

Art is often contextual and is always completely subjective.  Who am I to say what “great”or even “good” art is?  All I can say is what art appeals to me, but there are certainly  acknowledged masterpieces that I can honestly say I don’t like.  

In the end, successful art for me shows an object, place or idea from a new perspective.  Grandma see’s everything from a different perspective, which is what makes her art interesting to me.  Besides, there aren’t a lot of old ladies who have been as prolific in their later lives as Grandma.  Between her poetry, her paintings, her quilts and her afghans (all the bedding she’s created will have to be featured in a future blog post) she’s kept herself busy creating things.

I, for one, think it’s remarkable that Grandma just decided to start painting one day in her 70’s, and that everything she did was self-taught.  It sort of makes me wonder where she got the idea. I’d like to think it was from watching Bob Ross on PBS.  I definitely see some “happy little trees and their friends” in the painting below.

Mountain Meadow with Teepee: I like the moon over the mountains and the color in the meadow in this one.