Hanging Mum's Pictures and Other Favours!

One of the tapestries worked by my mother
in the 1970s. She suddenly left behind her life-long
skilled hobby of FairIsle knitting and took
up tapestry.

 A large measure of the walls in my modestly sized apartment is covered by/enhanced by/decorated with, pictures of various types. There are few photographs, two taken in Florence, I think, by John who lived in San Francisco and, of course, those long-ago photographs taken when my sisters and I were 21, 19 and 16, by a professional photographer. And yes, also that photograph of my mother celebrating her 70th! In addition, there are prints, originals, drawings, paintings, maybe the occasional lithograph, one or two maps and certainly portraits in different media. I do seem to be somewhat obsessed with portraits! One thing IS clear, to a stranger entering, that the owner of this small flat has gallery-size aspirations with insufficient wall space to accommodate them.

Photo of my sister Heather age 16.
 One of 3 studio pictures taken of us three sisters at
the request of a professional photographer neighbour
who was looking to create three portraits to enter a competition.
'Our' photos won him the first three places. We felt inordinately
proud of that achievement though we did nothing but pose!

An old map of Brugge which I acquired about ten
years ago in a little back street shop near a canal. The 
owner was selling off his deceased mother's possessions 
and this had been one of her favourites as it now is mine
See below.

The "need to own pictures" seems to stem from several psychological, social, and practical human needs; for me, it is primarily, I think, for the deep aesthetic delight I obtain from simply looking at them, beautiful and pleasure-giving to me, the viewer and owner. This pleasure is prompted by both individual works of art as well as the combined pattern, the mosaic, of the whole collection presented. However, often, perhaps one painting helps me to recall memories of the place, person, occasion, when it was made or bought. And thus, pictures-on-the-wall do assist in the recall and preservation of both precious and mundane occasions through pictures-in-the-mind. And it almost goes without saying, that memories grow evermore precious and important to us as we age. Interestingly, I have noticed that some visitors hardly see or notice my pictures while others stop to admire the whole show and/or the individual image. Meanwhile family members who call, are often enticed to look at a picture before commenting on its beauty, the artistic skill involved in its creation or in remembering the person or the place or the event involved. And then we chat about that and thus, our social bonds are, by chance, strengthened through our memories-in -common!

This always melts the heart! Bought in a Beijing gallery
and drawn by a newly-retired surgeon who had
wanted to draw and paint for years! This was her
first sale.

My son was over briefly this week and he hung one or two newly-acquired pictures which had been hanging around, waiting to be hung! We rearranged several more following earnest discussions! He commented more than once that a certain print or picture was 'typical of my taste'and explained that he almost knew which pictures I would choose. It must be said, that these were chiefly portraits and perhaps not difficult to predict! But it reminded me that the identity of a picture owner/collector/admirer is inherently expressed through her choice of how to embellish her living area walls. And so, after a brief assessment, I seem to have discovered that collecting pictures fulfils three categories: preserving memories; expressing identity and strengthening social bonds. Who knew?

Dancing in the Surf by Sherree Valentine-Daines
My latest addition in a medley of blues, whites and greys.
Captures the sheer carefree joys of childhood.
Limited edition of 195.

A recent purchase, chosen as much for the
clever title as the very pleasing dots.
Title refers to the expensive Banksy sold at 
Sotheby's in Oct 2020 for over £7.5 million.