I remember shopping before the advent of “shopping centers” and malls.
Back then we went ‘downtown’ to shop for clothes and shoes. While the majority of the stores we visited have long-since been replaced by specialty shops, gourmet coffee shops or up-scale restaurants the associated memories remain strong. Once I caught the distinct smell of popcorn as I climbed the lobby stairs of what had been Sears and Roebuck building when I was a child. From this entry of the old store you passed a candy and popcorn counter before going into the main part of the store.
Certain sounds or songs may have similar power. There are certain songs that associate with summer – specifically the summers of my ‘carefree’ pre-teen years. I can hear “Signs“, “War“, “Summer Breeze“, or “Brandy” (just to name a few) and be transported to my banana-seat bicycle with my red ball radio‘s chain wrapped around the handle bars as I rode around the neighborhood. Such is the stuff of memory.
And so are the pieces in the painting I’m sharing for this week’s “making of” series. Everything in the still life belonged to, or reminded me of, my step mother and grandparents. The date was chosen so it would be in the middle of the 1950’s which is the general era for the lamps in the painting.
If you are interested in purchasing this painting, click hereclick here.
