A daughter is a daughter, is a daughter

Blume With Strawberries

My oldest daughter, Blume, at 3 years old. 1977. Oil on canvas.

I thought the garland in her hair was appropriate for a child of 60s parents (and one named Blume). I didn’t let her dad name her Cactus Flower but we both liked Blume. Then we had to decide whether to spell it Bloom or not. I decided Bloom was better for a small child than an adult woman so…

We lived out in a little farm house in the desert, hence the deserted background.

It’s interesting to me to see how my painting style changed in the 6 years between this one and the next. I painted in oils and acrylics and made some Prismacolor, ink and pencil drawings but was primarily a painter. See the small chip of paint missing on Blume’s shoulder? That’s because canvases were expensive, I was poor, and there is another varnished (oh no) painting underneath! Apparently I was too lazy to sand it down first and reapply Gesso.

Lexa Vanessa

My youngest daughter, Lexa Vanessa. I painted this when she was 3 years old. She’s 31 now and just had her first child, a daughter, so I thought it appropriate to get this old portrait out again. Oil on canvas, 1980.

deja vu

Lexa was 15 when I took the photo and painted this portrait of teenage angst. Since everything old is new again, the T-shirt, the beads, and all, I named it “deja vu.”

This isn’t a perfect portrait. I overworked the face. It used to have better gradation in the skin tones similar to the arms. But there are too many things about this painting I like so I can’t reject it, especially since it is my daughter at a very important time in our lives. But hey, nobody’s perfect, right?

Diana Moore is my maiden name.