The Angel

Another early school work, this painting - a pastel - always hung in our basement, tucked away, part of the wallpaper, part of my childhood. I had always thought of the figure in the painting as a girl with a hat on and found it beguiling if not for some reason a little unsettling. Then of course one day I realized the hat was a halo and that this was either the boy Christ or an angel and having never given it much thought as to who painted it I realized my mom had painted it very early on. Unfortunately, like so many things, I never asked my mom about it. Thinking it was a girl I always thought she looked like my mom and I was always captivated by the image. All of which is fitting since my mom was an angel put on this earth after all. 

My mom's signature obviously BmS for Barbara Mary Sisko and the date 1959. So mom painted it when she was 17

The Girl

A piece that must be my mom's earliest art at least from school. She never mentioned this piece and it was tucked away in one of her many portfolios. I would of loved to of asked her about it. Was it an assignment? Knowing my mom and her kindness the bleak subject of this girl against a war torn setting is intriguing and  shows a different side to her that she rarely showed.

charcoal pastel

detail - mom rarely painted people or had people in her paintings. Again this makes this piece particularly unique for me. 

Mom's signature, like her painting style, changed over time. Here she signed "BmS". Barbara Mary Sisko

I don't know much about my mom's early art education. This would be interesting to learn. I would think she had some art instruction since she always pursued art classes well into her 50's.