Here is my completed oil painting of the week. This work features a portrait of my dad and his first wife, Phyllis when they were newly married in the early 1950s. It is based on an old black and white photograph that I found when I was cleaning out my dad’s house while he was in the Assisted Living facility back in 2011. I used the photo as a jumping off point for the composition and drawing but used my imagination when choosing the color palette, to create a color harmony of complementary colors of orange and blue, and yellow and violet. My painting is based on a series of oil paintings that I completed about my father’s life, based on family photos from different times in his life from childhood to young adult, to older adult to help process my grief during his series of strokes and hospitalization. I found that painting could provide a safe refuge for me when most days were uncertain and chaotic as I waited to get text messages, emails or phone updates on my dad’s health from family members, and tried to “keep it together” so I could get on with my daily life activities, like cooking, cleaning, going to work, and just getting out of bed every morning. The painting, Dad and Phyllis, are available for sale on my Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtofSchmidt?ref=seller-platform-mcnav. 
Title: Dad and Phyllis
Medium: Oil on Canvas Panel
Size: 9 x 12 inches
Item has been custom framed so it’s ready to hang on your wall!
Art of Schmidt 