Abyss of Silence

Friday, February 23, 2007

May 1977

This is my favorite picture of my Dad & me. It was taken in May 1977 while I was 2 years old. This picture is the only way I know this event took place. Isn't it a bummer that we don't retain such memories?

I mean I remember my Dad and me kicking the soccer ball back and forth in the backyard.

I remember him using silly voices when he read me stories before bedtime.

I remember the massive waterfight he battled against me and my friend, Hazel where he actually ended up cracking ribs in an attempt to jump over a fence to get the jump on us. Of course we didn't realize he was actually hurt when we ambushed him with the dog's water dish giggling madly as he lay in crippling pain. I wonder if he can laugh about that yet?

I have all sorts of good memories but while I love this photo, it still saddens me that I don't actually remember everything.
Anyway this makes it sound like my Dad is dead. He's not. I recently sent him a watercolor I did of this photo. And in my own defense, watercolor painting is really hard.

posted by Abyss of Silence at 2:01 PM

10 Comments:

  • Jen! I love this photo, the water color painting and your words!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:49 PM  

  • I'm glad you clarified at the end there, I was starting to think this was a memorial. It was beautiful, though.

    And water color is SOOO hard. Like "I believe in a thing called love" karaoke hard.

    -Toria

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:36 PM  

  • Thank you, Mom, I suppose I should have given you the photo credit because no doubt you took the picture. Nicely done!

    Toria- Thanks! Yeah I reread it and thought it sounded like a memoriam. And yeah about watercolors! It so very different than oils or acrylics where you can add highlight. You kind of have to work backward, leaving highlight. It's maddening, like listening to Celine Dion sing kind of maddening.

    By Blogger Abyss of Silence, at 5:39 PM  

  • I have only ever in my life made one successful watercolor, and it disappeared. I can't work in oit, either, though - it just takes too long to dry (guess I don't have the patience).

    Is that Match Game in the background on the TV?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:25 AM  

  • *oil*

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:25 AM  

  • I'm chiming in to confirm watercolor painting difficulty level of CrazyHard+. I've done a couple Billy Corgan pics, the dude wears black, it's tough stuff!

    Anyway, love the 70's yellow of the picture!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:07 PM  

  • What is the problem with oit (or "oil" as you call it) drying too slowly? Isn't that a benefit? I've yet to try an oil even though I have the materials and know exactly what I want to do. Lazy me.

    Nat- CrazyHard++, if I'm not mistaken. It didn't even occur to me that the photo was yellowish but it's true. A lot of my old pictures are. It's comforting in an old-timey, let's harken back kind of way. Plus it' isn't super glossy which I also like. Thanks for stoppin by!

    By Blogger Abyss of Silence, at 9:34 AM  

  • I think it's really a style issue. I like to apply multiple different colors to the canvas for color and shadow effect... when you apply multiple oil colors on a canvas, they blend too quickly into a gray-brown goopy color. For example, I could lay down some reds and then try to apply yellow highlights, but if the red paint is too wet the yellow just gets soaked right in. With acrylic, the plasticy consistency and quickness of drying makes the process a lot easier.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:59 PM  

  • The good news is yer mom thinks yer cool, Jen. :-)

    Oh all right. so do i. what a beautiful gift to make for your dad.

    By Blogger Imez, at 9:11 PM  

  • Love the picture AND the watercolor. But Jen, this brings new meaning to the expression 'you need to think outside of the box.'

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:44 PM  

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