The Sunday Memory Drawer - The Many Colors of Mom

Here we are.   The first time Mother's Day has been celebrated during a pandemic.  I am usually at Dodger Stadium on this day and I guess my mom, a late-in-night convert to baseball, would appreciate that.   

But not today.  As we continue to "get through this...together."

Take a look at the photo above.  It adorns my bedroom wall and is my mom at a very young age.   There's some trickery behind the picture and you will have to read on to understand it.

The portrait became a bit of a news item on Facebook recently and indeed brought back some memories.  Lucy and I will "s'plain."

About a month ago, a grade school friend of mine posted a similar era photo of her mom.   It had the same look and color contrast as the one of my mother.  The color of the blouse was virtually the same.   And, thinking back to my mom's one artistic talent, I made the brilliant deduction.

My mother likely colored the photo of my friend's mom.

Colored?

Yep.   Way back in the day, black and white portraits were predominantly how photos were taken.   Color film?   That was probably just for rich folk at that time.

So, my mother went to a class and learned how to color photos, just like what Ted Turner did to black-and-white classic movies years later.  She had this little kit of crayons and I can still remember her sitting at the kitchen table intricately applying a crayon to somebody's cherished family portrait.

Mom's work was displayed all over the family.   Wedding photos.   Christening pictures.   8 x 10 head shots.  If they were in color, my mother was probably the artist behind them.   

So here's the hocus pocus I mentioned earlier.  The photo at the top is in black and white because I put that filter on Instagram when I added the picture to my phone.  The portrait itself, as it hangs in my bedroom, really looks like this.

Granted that the colors have faded over time.   But Mom's artistic hand is clearly behind it.

When my grade school chum posted the portrait of her mom, it had the same colorized look.   The blouse was the same color.   The lips were equally as vibrant red.  I asked her if she knew how the picture had been colorized.   She didn't know, but I'm pretty sure my mom did it.   The scenario made sense.   All the mothers of my grade school friends knew each other.   Indeed, my mom's work might still be hanging in other walls of other homes of other friends.  

It was the one real artistic talent my mother had.  And, while still a bit withered by time, it still exists.  Apparently in a lot of places.

Happy Mom's Day to all!

Dinner last night:  Pepperoni and olive pizza from Maria's.