Cross The Line (Growing Up Working Class series) 2021 – 2022

mixed media on canvas 16" x 12"

back story: My sister, Dolores, attended Arts High School in Newark, graduatiing in 1961. My parents wanted her to drop out and get a job. Dolores stayed in school while she held two jobs to contribute to the family and pay for her art supplies. My sister's teenage years proved too much for my mother, Dolores painted the furniture in her bedroom matte black and started hanging her paintings, I remember only a still-life, but I believe she wanted to display studies of nude male models - that was forbidden. Going to an intergrated school was also a serious issue, my mom was extremely upset that Dolores might be associating with black men. These problems caused a crisis within my family and my sister moved out right after she graduated.

image: Dolores Tisdell with Arts High classmate, Edward Austin