Bacione- A kiss from Mom

This painting was created for a special person in my life. It was my husbands 50th birthday last November and there were many mixed emotions being felt on this day.  His mother Onorina has passed away however she always told me about this beautiful time worn church in her small town of San Guiliano Del Sannio where she would attend mass every Sunday.  

Sharing with me delectable little details of her dress up days and how she loved putting on her one and only simple yet lovely dress, walk hand in hand with her sister to attend mass.  Her description was so detailed, I could almost see it.  Trees, and hills with wild flowers, a very high mountain top overlooking the town, and a bell that can be heard for miles .  Her eyes sparkled as she shared her memory, so much so that I never forgot about her special place.      Bacione is my representation of this town in Italy where San Nicole still stands today, and on my husbands 50th birthday with so many mixed emotions, happiness, excitement and some tears for someone who he misses with all his heart, I presented him with this painting.   I let him know that although Onorina cannot be with us to celebrate on this day,  I knew exactly where she was having her own moment…. I believe in angels, and I am sure that she had found her way back to the steps of San Guiliano Del Sannio on November 3rd and sat on the broken steps of her favorite church where she was… smiling. 

Smiling because she knew that this was the day her baby boy was born, and that she had found a way to send him a message that she was with him in spirit and most importantly that she was happy because she was home…   Somehow I needed to paint this for him and capture every detail, I worked on it day and night until I felt it was …done, or perhaps until Onorina did?  

 Bacione in Italian means kiss… So to her baby boy who turned 50 on November 3rd, Bacione-… A kiss… from Mom…

Until we meet again,

Katerini