Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Miss Wilson's House

This is a sad story, I admit as much. Miss Wilson was a grade two teacher at the elementary school that I attended. It was a country school on a chunk of land cut out of a farm and donated to the school board in the twenties by Miss Wilson's family. She went to normal school and started teaching, conveniently enough, at the school on the land her grandparents donated. This would be about 1956, I think. By the time I got there she had learned to drive and had set up camp in this house which was also on the family farm and was old even then. I guess it had been her grandparents shack or something. She bought this Dodge and was all set, short walk to work, a cruiser for going into town, in a word-independence. My parents knew her parents, but I never had her for a teacher, although my brother did. Half way through 1960 she got sick and was replaced by an old battle axe the kids called "Bullfrog". She as much as vanished except we knew she was in her house being looked after by her mom. She later went to hospital, where she died of leukemia in January of 1961. She was young and pretty and then she wasn't. Nobody ever lived in the house again and the car is still sitting there forty-seven years later on the farm her nephew now owns. I guess its sort of a shrine and I drive by it all the time and think about her often although I hardly knew her. (As a side note my dad died three years later of the same thing...musta been the water.)

I did this with no drawing, just painted it to see if it would work, I'll paint it again and pay more attention. Its a full sheet of the ol'arches 140 C.P. with assorted paints some of which were payne's gray, yellow ochre, burnt umber, cobalt blue, rose madder, cobalt green...I think that's it.

__________________
Ron Morrison

6 comments:

Joan said...

Sad story, but great job on the painting. I like the subdued colors in this!

Ron Morrison said...

Thanks, Joan, subdued seemed in theme...

Jeffrey J. Boron said...

I wonder sometimes that if it weren't for the wonder if we could ever do what we do...I wonder?


Your painting and story leave me wonderfully full of wonder Ron.

Jeffrey

Ron Morrison said...

Thanks Jeffrey, just playing...

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

That's a nice tribute to her and I'm sure she'd like the painting too.
I never get tired of these car paintings. Terrific!

Ron Morrison said...

Thanks, Mary, I appreciate your visit!