The Little Chair

The subject of this pastel painting is an antique children's chair that's been in my family for several generations. Many toddlers have climbed onto this pint sized seat including my own grandchildren, but now it's kept in the studio because of it's deteriorating condition. The arched piece that makes up the back rest is one solid piece of wood that's been steamed and bent into that U shape.
This was done on Terra Cotta colored Colourfix paper...some of it shows through in places. I used a spot light hung low to get the long interesting shadows reminiscent of evening light.
If this chair could talk what stories it could tell.... it reminds me of my grandmother. Her parents(my great grand parents) came from Vienna, Austria, and were very poor. Their first five children died before they came to America where they settled in Philadelphia. They were very hard working but the times were formidable for immigrants and they were destitute. There were long periods when the only food they had to eat were potatoes and milk.
It was difficult for my grandmother to talk about her childhood but she felt it was important for us to know about the family's past and where we came from.
By the way...my grandmother was born right after her parents arrived in the US. and she was the first of five siblings who all survived. This was her chair...