Kara LaReau

Family Portrait Gallery

I’d hoped to show you some photos of my updated workspace, but I’m just finishing the second of two novel revisions, and I’m surrounded by a flurry of manuscript pages. Hopefully I’ll have a reveal for you next week!

Also, I spent much of Wednesday and yesterday celebrating World Read Aloud Day. I Skyped with schools in New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, and Florida. Whew! Many thanks to the teachers and librarians for inviting me, and to the students, who were both well-behaved and prepared with super-smart questions.

I do have one fun project reveal for you today — a gallery of family portraits my husband and I recently installed in our house.

As you take in the above photo, you might notice there’s something…different…about our family. As it turns out, neither Scott nor I has access to many photos of our relatives, but we’ve needed something to fill the big, blank wall in this room for some time. I did some thinking, and then some poking around on Etsy, made a few trips to Target and Michaels for budget-conscious frames and mats, and voila! Our gallery was born.

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We’re still debating whether or not to add little old-fashioned, hand-written nameplates on each portrait. Or maybe we should just leave well-enough alone. What do you think?

I love them all, but my favorite is this guy. I know I have some Blackfoot Indian ancestry on my father’s side, but I’ve never discovered any other details. For now, this guy (whom I call Chief Birdtree, aka Uncle Birdy) is a more than worthy stand-in.

The more I look at him, the more I see a family resemblance.

Family portraits via designlab443, AnimalFancy, BeatUpCreations, and GrandOleBestiary.

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14 responses to “Family Portrait Gallery”

  1. Terry Avatar
    Terry

    I think that this is brilliant. In a similar vein, I’ve been tempted to do a wall of bad dog art (there’s some great stuff at flea markets.) Your wall inspires me!

    Reply
    1. karalareau Avatar
      karalareau

      Thanks, Terry! A wall of bag dog art sounds awesome. I’ve also seen lots of vintage photos of kids with dogs. Weren’t you collecting vintage photos of kids with chickens at some point?

      Reply
      1. Terry Avatar
        Terry

        Yes! In fact, I currently have an artist photoshopping the images to show them at their best. Will be publishing them this year. Each photo is a mystery – I have no back stories – so might have to make a few up.

        BTW, my WRAD is next week (put off due to the surgery.) I’ll be visiting California. Steve has the barns wired for wifi, so I can do a Skype visit while walking around outside with the iPad. How cool is that?

      2. karalareau Avatar
        karalareau

        Super-cool! Where is your series of chicken photos being published?

      3. Terry Avatar
        Terry

        Plan A is a publisher – my agent still has it out at two houses – but plan B (and most likely) is that I’m going to self-publish. The artist doing the photoshopping has a lot of experience designing art books and has contacts with a publisher. I’m excited about this either way it gets done. Benefits and negatives to both. But, wait until you see some of the images! I’ll email you some! I know you are working… am very impressed with your output. It’ll be just a little distraction for you 🙂

      4. karalareau Avatar
        karalareau

        I just beheld them, and sent you an email! Amazing!

  2. Eve Avatar
    Eve

    Your ancestry wall reminds me of a trip to Florida, Feb. 1977. We decided to visit a first cousin who’s moved from NY to Miami a few years before. She and the then husband had become big fans of flea markets to decorate the house, but not always admittedly so. I walked into a “spare” room, lined with shelves of their Depression glass, and then a wall of oversized, sepia toned, early 20th century portraits. I looked closely to see a resemblance to “him” and without one, I asked “her” who all of these people were. She said, “My whole family, of course, right after they came to America!” totally forgetting that we had the VERY SAME FAMILY, and none of the “relatives” on the ancestry wall were mine.
    Your kitties and Uncle Birdie brought back that memory, and a smile………….

    Reply
    1. karalareau Avatar
      karalareau

      Wow! Sounds like your cousin replaced your family history with “her story”!

      Reply
  3. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    I always knew you had a wild side…

    Reply
    1. karalareau Avatar
      karalareau

      …and that I have a menagerie of a family. : )

      Reply
  4. PL Avatar
    PL

    Kara, that is very clever and something I have never seen before. And I don’t think you should stop with nameplates — this display cries out for a picture book telling its story. — PL

    Reply
    1. karalareau Avatar
      karalareau

      Thanks, Peter! : )

      Reply
  5. Tracy Avatar
    Tracy

    So wonderful!! I love to see my artwork in action displayed in a home… so lovely!

    Reply
    1. karalareau Avatar
      karalareau

      Glad you like! : )

      Reply
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