I knew when my mom was a young mother with three young children living in North Windham CT, she took classes—I think at the local high school—learning to paint on tin ware as well as tinsel paintings—two crafts popular in the late 40’s. (I remember my Dad watching us children while she was in class, having us play endless games such as “Who can keep quiet the longest” and “52 Pickup”.) Years later, in the 1990’s she studied portrait painting, continuing until her death last year.

Young mom

I’d forgotten about the earlier classes until going through her things, I came across her earlier paints and studies she had kept stored away all these years. Her later paints were stored in a typical art bin and jars and boxes of brushes stood on her table beside her easel, but this early paint box had been made by my Dad. It was outfitted with pockets to hold her tubes of oils and had a compartment for brushes.

Samples and Paint Box

She worked from patterns, painting samples on black board in preparation for the real thing. (I don’t know what happened to the trays but I think Kristina has a tinsel painting.) In reading her notes I realized this was when she learned to mix colors using oils. I think of that as I struggle getting a desired blue or green—knowing color theory is NOT the same as mixing color with paints!

Learning to mix color and paint

She gave her later paints and brushes to my sister hoping she finds time and peace to continue her own art work. (I helped Mom go through her things, getting rid of this, giving that to someone special and the only time she had a hard time was giving up her brushes. It was only a moment but a very hard one.)

The early paint box is on a high shelf in my studio and the samples in a folder. I also found her early painting shirt which she had made and I gave it to Kristina.