I started this piece in March 2023 to give to my Baba on her 89th birthday. However, it was much more challenging then I expected and took me over a year to complete, finally delivering it to her on her 90th birthday.
Yosemite holds a very special place in my grandmother’s heart. The Ahwahnee restaurant is her favorite place to relax over a leisurely breakfast, looking out the large windows to the falls. Sunday brunches were remembered fondly not just for the delicious food but the treat of a waiter singing her favorite song, Oh, What a Beautiful World. I was lucky enough to get a video of her hearing it for the last time on our trip in January 2020 before the pandemic, before the huge snow storm that canceled our last trip and before her mobility issues. Despite not being able to take her to visit her favorite place on earth any more, I still wanted to give her the daily reminder of those wonderful times at such an amazing place.
I had to research ideas for the painting. It had to be a specific size and orientation to hide her new assisted living accommodations’ utility box. In my searching, I came across an old menu on ebay featuring a watercolor by Gunnar Widforss. I, of course, purchased it and gave it to her in 2023 as a pre-gift to the painting. It was unfortunately folded at one point in time, but she didn’t care and loved looking at the meals and prices from back in the day.
I set up my easel, taped up printed references and got to work. This definitely was the most detailed acrylic I have done thus far. I wanted it to be something I was proud of and that she would cherish. So really, it was a gift to both of us. Which is nice, since our birthdays are only 4 days apart!
The natural scenes in the windows felt easy compared to the more architectural elements of the building. I spent a good amount of time contemplating how to handle the floor to ceiling drapes. How close to I try to match things or do I just let artistic license flow and capture the vibe of things? I went with the vibe, I’m just not that experienced yet to do into the detail I’d like to do.
The columns of stone walls were much easier and enjoyable to fill large amounts of canvas with. But then came the finishing of the painting. I had mere days to go before the birthday deadline and I was psyching my self out. The Widforss painting has such detail in on the tables and even the beautiful stone floors. In the end, I choose completion over exact replica. I felt if I kept fiddling with it, trying to add glasses and flowers, I’d over work the piece. We can just pretend that the tables haven’t been set yet!
When I presented Baba with the finished piece, she loved it. She pointed at one of the tables and said, “That’s where I would always eat breakfast.” While I am most proud of the middle third of the painting, my heart is full knowing she walks by it every day and is reminded of her beautiful Ahwahnee memories.
