My Mother's Paintings

My mother, Linda Wills, was an artist of oil paints. She had an art room in the house where my brother and I grew up, and that was her space. She created 34 paintings that I am aware of, in the last years of her life. Some were sold, many were given, and the family has a cherished few.

Mom kept a photo album of her work, little Kodak snapshots from a cheap Instamatic camera. They have faded and yellowed over the years, and these copies from the scrapbook really do not do her justice. The colors are much more vibrant, the lines much more defined, and there is a thick texture to them.  Many times she painted with a knife -- no kidding -- and she put it on thick.

These snapshots were further ruined five or six years ago during a basement flood. I did what I could to save them, putting them into a new photo album and rewriting her handwritten labels for which person got what painting.

I remember most of these being done. The big mountain painting still hangs in St. Joseph Hospital in Warren, where she had worked.  I have five or six.  My brother Gerry has the big train. Other friends and relatives have a few.  I would like to know of those that she sold, and I wonder where they are now.  If you know, or if you have one, send a photo to me.