grandpa's art

Last weekend, we celebrated my grandfather's 85th birthday. His very full life has included philosophy, teaching, writing, and most notably, art. As long as I can remember, Grandpa has filled the walls of his home with oil pastel drawings. There are hundreds of portraits lining the walls; political leaders, religious figures, iconic celebrities, nameless faces from magazines, and plenty of family members as well. Grandpa spends almost every night drawing and continues to create beautiful pictures. For his birthday, my mom and I created a coffee table book of some of his works. It was truly amazing to go through decades of my grandfather's art and see all the meaningful pieces that he has drawn.
I remember when I was young, Grandpa gave me my own drawing pad, set of chalk, and I (along with some of my cousins and siblings) would sit in Grandpa's drawing room, listening to the Beatles and drawing the day away. I was so proud to have an artist in the family that I brought Grandpa and some of his artwork for show-and-tell when I was six years old.

Below is a sampling of Grandpa's artwork through the years.