What happens when you take an artist's work from another generation and bring it into your own world?

For my grandfather Robert George Etienne's 100th heavenly birthday, I began recreating his original acrylic paintings on decorative plates using my own medium: soft pastels.

After completing Part 1, I realized our family had almost 100 more of Grandpa's painted plates to choose from. So I asked my family to pick some of their favorites—and created four more.

But this time, I took his artwork outdoors.

Each recreation became a plein air conversation between Grandpa's imagination and mine.

A tropical dart frog became a hidden Easter egg in a Florida landscape. 🐸

A mysterious celestial painting made me wonder whether two winged figures might be cherubs—or perhaps two souls connected by a flowing ribbon. 👼

His seascape inspired me to paint a peaceful lake filled with Egyptian geese. 🪿

And finally, one of his beautiful seascapes brought me to the beach, where I sat in 96-degree Florida heat, covered myself in pastel dust, and eventually jumped into the ocean to cool off. 🌊

Through recreating his work, I've learned more about my grandfather not only as an artist, but as someone who knew how to see.

I've learned about composition, color, observation, and most importantly, imagination.

Because we don't have to create the same way.

We can take what someone gave us and make it our own.

At the end of the video, I invite you to take an imagination journey through Grandpa's art—from a tropical landscape, to a celestial sky, to a peaceful lake, and finally into the ocean.

My grandfather, Robert George Etienne, passed away in 2024. His creativity lives on in the paintings he left behind, the easel and paints he gave me, and now, in some small way, in my own pastels.

After all these years, you're still teaching me how to stretch my imagination.

Love you, Grandpa. ❤️

🎨 Original artwork: Robert George Etienne

🖍️ Pastel recreations: Jackie Morreale

🎙️‪@wisdomforwannabes‬

🌐 View Robert George Etienne's tribute art gallery:https://www.wisdomforwannabes.com/tribute

Chapters:

00:00 Honoring Grandpa Through Art

00:31 The Tropical Dart Frog 🐸

01:11 Reimagining Grandpa's Cherubs 👼

01:56 His Seascape Becomes My Lake & Egyptian Geese 🪿

02:28 Grandpa's Seascape Becomes My Beach 🌊

03:36 An Imagination Journey 🪷

04:26 What Grandpa's Art Taught Me

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