Guest Artist: My Dad

Oil painting by Anthony S. Maniglia, 1955

This is an oil painting my dad created back in the 1950’s. Earlier this year, I painted a lighthouse for my dad, who was a professional commercial artist; my dad has Parkinson’s disease.

My dad – Anthony S. Maniglia, in 2015

He’s in the advanced stages, but he’s still “doodlewashing” (doodlewash is a term coined by Charlie and his Doodlewash site, for those of you unfamiliar with the term). He uses one of my favorite mediums, markers, and he also uses pencils. Pastels or paint would be too messy for him to work with, and he’s all over the place with looseness, my friends. But in this portrait of my brother, I think he captured something …

And he made great use of color to create depth. He surprised us this weekend and said, “I colored it in.”

Portrait of his son – marker and pencil – Anthony S. Maniglia, 2015. Anthony has Parkinson’s disease.

The first drawing my dad did while having severe Parkinson’s disease. “Santa Claus” by Anthony S. Maniglia, 2015. Marker and pencil on paper. Parkinson’s Paints.

Baseball player – dad is a Phillies fan. Marker and pencil on paper. By Anthony S. Maniglia, 2015. Parkinson’s Paints.

Dad has an idea for a story – a kid (him when he was younger) in a yellow raincoat and riding a scooter. Reminds me of the Uneeda biscuit boy of the 1930’s. Marker on paper. By Anthony S. Maniglia, 2015. Parkinson’s Paints.

Dad’s friend, Frank. My brother knew who this was right away! Marker on paper. By Anthony S. Maniglia, 2015. Parkinson’s Paints.

Left to right – My dad in the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1950’s. My dad at his desk with his art supplies, at work. My dad and me at my desk (playroom table) with my art supplies. Me standing in front of the painting my dad did of a Hungarian Refugee in the 1960’s. When I was a kid, I went up to his studio and picked up a brush (while he wasn’t there, he was at work) and dabbed a little here and there. He came home and asked if I did that and I lied and said no. Bottom, my dad and me. He’d use a tripod and take portraits like this – he often developed his own film.