art and dad

 A month ago today my father died.

He and my mother had lived in Venice, Florida for 25 years before they moved back to Chicago to live with my sister back in 2020 because of Covid.

He developed dementia several years back. He and mom were by themselves down there in Florida. Mom realized that if something happened to her ..well...Dad was screwed and she is and was at that time not in the best of health herself.

It was time for them to go back North closer to family. 

My sister helped them immensely and  still to this day she does. I am grateful. More than she realizes. I know it has been stressful for her. That too more than she realizes.

I had Covid when my father passed and no, he didn't die of Covid. He died of dementia, old age. He was 93. He broke his hip back in April, it was down hill from there. I was warned by people who had been through similar with their folks. He had been under hospice care since August so it was not unexpected but you never are truly prepared to loss someone. 

Anyway, because of my parents living in Venice Florida I have a lot of pictures and paintings of Casperson Beach and Supply Beach. The Pier at Sharkey's. Even Venice Beach and the North Jetty.

Some are just the beginnings of paintings. Paintings I started but never finished. Maybe I have enough. 

Maybe I'm just tired of painting pretty pictures. 

Art isn't supposed to just be pretty. It should stir the soul. It should make a statement and shed light on social conditions and injustices. It should have an opinion. I'm tired of boring, coffee table art. I want to do work that means something. 

Dad and me. Central Park, New York, NY
1962

My Dad was an artist. A technical illustrator, graphic designer and a photographer. My mother is also an artist. She worked as an illustrator and is a painter.  They were married for 63 years before my father passed away. He worked for major companies like Herf Jones, RCA, Magnavox, IBM and General Dynamics. He even played some minor league Baseball for a small stint back in the late 40's. 

We are missing him. He was a good man. Gentle and kind but what a man is supposed to be when it came to his family. He was one of those people who jumped in to help when there was a crisis. My mother says that one of the things she loved about him was how guileless he was. I don't think I have meet a more honest person than my father was. 

Thanks for indulging me as I sort all this shit out. I miss this man. I didn't get to say a proper good bye to him. This Covid shit really sucks. Still haven't been able to go visit with my family because of it. 

Melissa