Readers of my teaching blog know that I attribute my photographic lineage in part to my grandfather Batten, who made hundreds of excellent Kodachrome color slides in his lifetime. I may have neglected, however, to mention my father’s artistic contributions to my life. Joseph L. Barron was a talented painter. I thought that this, the 10th anniversary of his death, would be a nice occasion to share a few of his works.

The funniest thing about Dad’s painting was his cheapness in the face of having enough; despite our Christmas and birthday gifts of brushes, canvases, pallets and frames, he always use scraps to create and display his work. He was “saving” his “good” stuff, which was a signature paradigm of his life. As a result, he painted on salvaged pieces of panelling or plastic, using brushes he found at garage sales for 25¢ but bargained down to 10¢.

He never signed his with his full name, but simply with “Dad” or “Joe.”