June & Riz

June and Riz were my wife, Jane's parents. I did June's portrait in December of 1990. It is pencil and white acrylic paint on chip board. June had passed in February at the age of 58. I did this portrait from photos taken at our wedding as a Christmas gift to my wife. Funds were tight at the time so I did this portrait to fit in a frame that held a piece in the same style that I had done in college.

I had hung the portrait. The kids were in bed. It was very early Christmas morning. Before going to bed we decided to each open one gift. I gave her a card with a poem/riddle describing how to find her gift, the last line of which was "Just look for the little red bow."  She was tired and could not solve my riddle so I gently took her hand and walked her into our dining room and pointed to it. She sat down and and spent a few minutes with mother. Later that evening when her brother and father arrived for dinner, she met them at the door and after taking their coats walked them in to see it. They all sat there for few more minutes before joining the celebration.

Jane's father, Fortunato "Riz" Rizzitano lived to be nearly 92. He passed in November of 2012. I did his portrait a few weeks later, just in time for Christmas. Once again I used photos from our wedding as my frame of reference. The medium again is pencil and white acrylic paint on chip board. These portrait are 13 x 17 inches.