Presenting: Fred W. Smith (my great grandfather)

My great-grandfather, Fred W. Smith, was an artist. Most often he used watercolors, but he also did some pen and ink sketches. I am priviledged enough to have 4 of his pieces in my possession - the rest of the collection still held by the family are spread between my cousin, my mom's sister and my mom, though there are a number of others sold out among the world.

In honor of him, and of my grandparents (Joy and Dick) whom I love so much, I wanted to post pics of his paintings tonight. I had one of them hanging in my old house, but when I moved to Illinois three years ago, the frame broke. The others were not ever framed. So this week I bit the bullet and decided that I would rather have his pictures hanging in cheap frames than not hanging at all (while saving up for custom frames).

Here they are:


I used to think this one (above) was a painting of my grandma, Joy, and my mom and her sister. Even though my mom says its not so... secretly I still believe it. And I love it even more because even if it isn't really them, it could be. And it reminds me of my happy times in a state that had lots of water places - WA!
You may think I picked this photo because my fantastic new bookcase is in it... but no. The pic on top is of a harbor, with a sailboat in the foreground and a boathouse in the background. It goes nicely in that little space above the bookshelf (click photo to enlarge)
Lastly, this one of a country cabin, kind of ramshackle, seems to fit perfectly in th space above my bed - the colors are really pretty and its a peaceful setting.

This is part of my family legacy - and why I am fairly good with art-related stuff. Genetics. :)