Dick’s Voigtlander, Vitrona 35mm Camera, made in Germany

During the late fifties and early sixties my father spent hours in the garage, with a hand saw, sawing ply board and masonite. He then would glue canvas on to it, and then have my sister, Pat, gesso them in a sort of mass production method. There were two reasons for this activity. First he could make them cheaper than having to buy ready made canvases and second he preferred painting on this type of surface. I have noticed after inspecting many paintings over the years that he didn’t always saw so straight.



Dick’s Voigtlander, Vitrona 35mm Camera, made in Germany

Dick used 35mm camera regularly to capture images to bring back to the studio. These were not the point and shoot one step cameras of today. It was a process to judge distance, focus, manipulate aperture, depth of field, shutter speed, etc. I know well, I inherited the camera when he upgraded to the Japanese Minolta SRT101. I learned to photograph with the Voigtlander until a problem developed with the lens.
What I have observed as a youngster roaming in and out of the basement studio was that my father would have several photos taped to the easel while starting a new painting. Some would be taped together in order to get a more panoramic view. Others were of slightly different views that he preferred He also would leave out certain things or put in object depending on what effect he was trying to achieve.