Today is the birthday of Mark's youngest sister, June Marie Gresham Crane, and that reminded me that I've been meaning to write about this picture:
This (bad) photograph is of a print of an oil painting by our brother-in-law, June's husband Gregory Crane. It's called Jewel's Sunflower. In late July 2006, I wrote to June:
I would like to surprise Mark for his birthday next month. He said Greg did a painting or print once called "Jewel's Sunflowers." I think he would like to have a print of that as it reminds him of your mother. Are prints of that still available? How would I go about getting one?
I would like to surprise Mark for his birthday next month. He said Greg did a painting or print once called "Jewel's Sunflowers." I think he would like to have a print of that as it reminds him of your mother. Are prints of that still available? How would I go about getting one?
June explained that "Jewel's Sunflower is an oil painting and was never made into a print. There are a couple of things that we can do if you want a reproduction of that image." She went on to explain:
Just a note about Greg's images. If you have been to his website you will see that his images aren't strictly literal. They are much more emotional than that. So the image of the sunflower may not be what you are expecting. It was painted after mom died, so it's very much full of all his feelings for her and how her death affected all of us. We have had a lot of people wanting to buy that painting but we could never part with it. I guess what I am trying to say is that it's not a pretty picture of a sunflower, it's really more than that. I hope this makes sense.
Just a note about Greg's images. If you have been to his website you will see that his images aren't strictly literal. They are much more emotional than that. So the image of the sunflower may not be what you are expecting. It was painted after mom died, so it's very much full of all his feelings for her and how her death affected all of us. We have had a lot of people wanting to buy that painting but we could never part with it. I guess what I am trying to say is that it's not a pretty picture of a sunflower, it's really more than that. I hope this makes sense.
I replied,
I did look at Greg's images on the website so I know they are not strictly literal interpretations. Mark mentioned "Jewel's Sunflower" specifically so I figured he has seen the image and that is what he wants, probably for the very reasons you mentioned, to remember your mom. That is good enough for me to buy it sight unseen.
At that time, the image was not on Greg's website. It is now, I think added after the process June and Greg went through to get a good image of it, and then a print (a little smaller than the original 17" wide by 25" high) made for us on a really nice quality watercolor paper.
For various reasons, it took a while to get the print, and it did not arrive in time for Mark's August birthday, but we did have it by late October 2006. In early December 2006, I wrote to June:
I've been meaning to tell you for some time that the print has been framed and is now in a place of honor on our mantle. Mark picked out a really nice frame that goes with the wood in the floor, and the shop did a really nice job matting it - the beveled edge and a line cut around the perimeter show the yellow of the petals of the flower. It's hard to describe; I've attached a (not-so-good) picture.
That's the picture at the beginning of this post. Jewel Moore Gresham, Mark's and June's mother (Greg's and my mother-in-law, who I never met), died in November 1994 at the age of 80. Greg may have based his painting on a drawing by the same name that he did with India ink on paper in 1982, that was part of an August 2016 show.
We later moved the painting to our bedroom, hung where we could see it from the bed.
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