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Our newest group of paintings are by Irene Veronica Marcello. and were painted in the early 1990s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Frank and Irene loved poking around in resale shops, where they found many items that spawned paintings.
The clown toys in these paintings are more special than just mere resale gold -- they were her granddaughter Shannon's favorite toys for a while.
In fact, while Irene was painting them, Shannon would take them from her reference display to play with them, causing Irene to rebuild every time she wanted to paint. That's grandmotherly love.
The Touch of Persephone
The photos with this post were taken around 2001, when Shannon was 2 years old.
In addition to her artistry, Irene was a wonderful gardener. She could make anything bloom just by touching it, it seemed. In the summertime, her home was surrounded by flowers and it was a beautiful, befitting place for Persephone personified, which is how I always thought of her. Beauty just exuded from her pores.
During this time, Irene became enamored of koi ponds. So, she had one dug and surrounded by the rocks you see. Shannon loved to take her "clownies," as she dubbed them, to the pond and watch the fish. This was always accompanied by a Tootsie Roll Pop candy, which she and Shannon shared while Irene worked.
Frank, of course, camera in hand was usually available to take photos. At the time, Shannon was their only grandchild, so grandparents... You know how that goes.
These clown toys offered us some great memories for us. The paintings we show here are only three of many. She also painted some of these clowns in Florida.
