My Mother's Paintings
Friday, May 11, 2012 at 12:33PM 
Pat's Barn, by Tess Beemer
I have been collecting and buying my my mother's paintings for years. There aren’t many of them out there, unfortunately. Before I had my own baby I wondered why she didn't paint more while I was growing up, but that was when I didn't know that what little mental and physical energy remain at the end of a day of parenting are used up obsessing about whether or not you are any good at it.
My mother was barely able to paint at all when we lived on West Hill, where the priority in winter was tending the potbelly wood stove that sat in the center of our two room house like a giant furious baby bird. She managed to do more during the years that I was in high school, when we had moved into a big falling down house with electric heat in town specifically so that I could more easily stumble out of bed and into the path of a school bus. It also helped that I required much less attention in general because I had sudden access to neighborhood friends (or as my grandfather put it, future co-defendants) and was finally able to focus entirely on running absolutely wild, the only thing about me under any semblance of control being my bangs, Aqua-Netted into an utterly frozen, totally flammable state. As soon as the leaves had dropped and it was too cold to leave the house unless it was on fire or you had run out of cigarettes, my mother would set her easel up in front of a window and paint what she saw through it. I realize now that a winter landscape in a harsh climate is probably almost always painted by a native artist, because unless you were painting the way she did, through the windows of a warm house, standing still for more than a moment isn’t possible. I barely looked twice at these paintings when I was young. I remember walking - or running - past them on my way towards our flimsy front door that could barely keep our cats out of the road, much less me.
Frozen Laundry, by Tess Beemer, collection of Halsey L Beemer
When summer came back so did our relatives, and many of these paintings went home with them in the fall. I would see them again, years later, hanging on the walls of my relatives’ houses in New York City and Bethesda, Maryland, and wonder how we could ever bear to let them go. How had I not noticed how beautiful they were? After that, whenever I would visit my mother, I was the one who would take home canvases. Standing in front of these paintings now its as though I’m standing in the front room of that house, looking through the windows on the front of the house towards the road, just about to leave.
We were renters there, and eventually the house was sold and we had to move out. Shortly afterwards it burned to the ground. I think it was a managed, intentional fire set by it’s new owners who lived in Montreal and spent weekends next door. They told us that they considered it a dangerous building in need of too much repair, I think, but really it was a wonderful old place. I think they just saw their chance to eliminate the possibility of ever having neighbors again and struck the match.
I have seven of my mother’s paintings grouped together on my living room walls, right above a sofa covered with Denyse Schmidt quilts and pillows. Their work looks beautiful together, maybe because they both went to RISD, or maybe because we are all from small New England towns with their solid, square little houses in need of warm quilts and wildflowers on the roadsides and printed on the cottons. Over the years a lot of people have expressed an interest in these paintings, so I decided to ask my mother if I could offer prints of her work for sale. She works with a really good giclee printer in Vermont, and has agreed to some small runs (only 50 in each size, all signed and numbered) to be made and sold here, on my website.
We will take orders for the next few weeks through my online shop, and then have everything printed, signed, and shipped directly from Vermont. Giclee printing, if you are not familiar with it, is an amazingly high quality method for reproducing paintings. All four paintings in this offering are offered in two sizes (dimensions listed refers to paper size) and on both heavy watercolor paper or canvas. Shipping is $10 within the US. All proceeds beyond the cost of printing and shipping will go straight to my mother, who is currently in the process of putting in her vegetable garden. I’m doing this for her as a Mother’s Day gift, partly because I know that when she runs out of money she will try to move in with me and I’d like to delay that, and partly because I love her, but mostly because I want more of the world to see how truly gifted an artist she really is.
PS: your words of support and encouragement to my mother - and to every single artist and every single mother - are just as valuable as your orders...
Froze Laundry, by Tess Beemer, collection of Halsey L Beemer
Montgomery Center, by Tess Beemer
Gloria's House, by Tess Beemer, collection of Chris Beemer
Reader Comments (19)
Wonderful, I particularly like Pat's Barn - the stillness of a winter's day really comes through. How lucky to be able to have your mum's paintings and to have such beautiful works all at the same time. I hope you find many more!
Lovely paintings and lovely memories to go with them.
Your mom's paintings are amazing. I love the simple clean lines. My mom was an artist, too. She painted in oils, and was very much into cubism, and other modern movements. Picasso was her favorite. I didn't appreciate her paintings when I was younger, but now I have them hanging all over my house. She didn't get the recognition she deserved while she was alive, so it is wonderful that you are doing this run for your mom. I'd love to buy one, but just can't do it financially right now. This is a great think you are doing for your mom, Heather.
The one with the clothesline is my favorite. So glad you have been able to collect so many of these. It must be such a great feeling to have this piece of your childhood -- and your mother's heart and talent -- on your wall!
P.S. Love the line about the Aquanet.
What a great thing to do for Mother's Day, i couldn't even reach mine on the phone to wish her a great day....bad daughter! But I did immidiatley buy two copies of "Gloria's House" for obvious reasons. Now, I will have a belated gift for my Mom and can hold the guilt at bay a while longer. What a cool thing to do and what a wonderful mother you must be, your daughter is very lucky! Headed west any time soon?
what wonderful simplicity and clarity....!!!!.....
I lived in that house, too! Both yours and "Gloria's House"...I remember a painting with two beautiful girls on a swing - heck, I remember the swing...and the loom....line drawings of a baby girl Dylan, claw foot bath tubs, another painting by another artist of Chris and Jesse...and the aqua net, of course. Art for the heart...keep sharing, Heather...
These paintings are hard to stop looking at. I think the parts I love the most are the stark omnipresent mountains in the background of each..looming over the Vermont town as they seem to do in winter. Love them. I see where you get your creativity.
Wow, I'm a little teary-eyed looking at those. They're wonderful, stand alone works of art. But with the stories behind them they become even more vibrant. I'm especially partial to "Pat's Barn" and "Frozen Laundry" because they evoke nostalgia of my own. I'm so glad that you have been able to find and keep many of her works for yourself, and how wonderful that you can offer prints to share with others. Fantastic!
These are GREAT! We have a place in Chester, VT and these pictures look just like the houses on Main Street. Is your mother still painting?
The first image seemed easy.. but as the images continued, the difficulty and the level of hardness raised.. Really nice pieces of Art !
These are beautiful paintings. Such a talented family!
Love this post, and I can absolutely see how they go with Denyse Schmidt quilts!
hi Heather, your Mum's paintings are gorgeous, I particularly love Pat's Barn and Frozen Laundry. It's so lovely that you have organised prints of them to be made.
I'm in Brisbane, Australia, so the cold landscape is particularly unfamiliar to me, as an everyday experience. We've holidayed though in NYC, and up into Massachusetts and Vermont - only in autumn - and found the countryside so beautiful and majestic. Can't get my head around what it's like to live through a winter there, how incredibly cold it gets.
I have just tried to buy a Pat's Barn print for my husband's birthday, but the shop isn't recognising non-US paypal - am wondering (hoping) if that's just a glitch.
Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your Mum's story and her art. see you, Catherine
I adore these paintings and am sorry I missed the sale! What a wonderful post too.
A few years ago, my mom found some wallpaper samples that my grandparents (both fine artists) had done back in their entrepreneurial days. The colors and design are so fantastic, my mom and I talked about having them reproduced. We havent' yet, but hopefully will! I really love the process of bringing art into a new generation.
Who wouldn't love your mom's paintings? They're all beautiful! You're so lucky to have them all.
Painting is an ongoing process that need to be repeated after a few years or so. But a good paint last for long even after tough wear and tear. So the better option is to spend a bit more on a good color that will last long- really long.
So I am clearly WAY late to the party... Lame. These are beautiful. Absolutely stunningly beautiful. Winter is far and away my favorite season, there is just someting about it that feels so renewing. The world becomes a canvas, white as soon and ready for new ideas and new colors to change it into something else. It's the perfect time to stay home, warm and cozy behind the windows and make things all day. It is my dream life to watch the stillness of winter from a cozy little house with old creaky doors and stacks of quilts next to the fireplace. Frozen Laundry is one of the most beautiful paintings I've ever seen. It actually made my breath catch in my lungs when I scrolled down and saw it. Beautiful beautiful work Tess. I'm sure it's a lot of work to get paintings ready to make prints, but I hope that one day you do it again. And next time I'll be ready and jump on it. Your paintings remind me of how beautiful winter is, and how much simpler life can be if we really just focus on the things we can see right outside our windows, instead of all the other stuff that can clutter up our lives. Best, erika
What beautiful paintings and what a beautiful daughter you are. It is every Mother's dream to be so appreciated by their daughter. You both are very lucky!