A friend discovered this vintage Zenith Oceanic Shortwave Radio in the attic, and he asked me if I’d like to light paint it. Of course, I told him yes!
 
This is from my series of narrative still lifes, and the story I had in mind when I created this composition was of a few days after D-Day in World War II, and a father in Brooklyn, New York, is tuning in on his shortwave radio to get the latest news from the front, as the Allies move from the beaches into the French countryside.
 
His son Paul (my father-in-law and that is his portrait) is in the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is a key part of the invasion, digging through the beach dunes, building temporary bridges, and building the infrastructure for the troops as they fight their way to Paris.
 
The father tunes his radio with precision and anxiously waits for any voices from afar. It’s a little past 3:30 AM. He should’ve been in bed long ago. He has to go to work soon, but he’s hoping to hear whether the invasion was successful —or a complete disaster. Is his son alive? Only time will tell….
 
The wallpaper is a 1940s-style wallpaper. It might be a little busy, but after looking at so many wallpapers from that era, apparently, that was the style back then. The Camel cigarettes and box were Paul’s favorite smoke. The newspapers are vintage D-Day newspapers that I bought on eBay. The envelopes are letters written by servicemen during World War II that I also bought on eBay.
 
The Zenith Oceanic shortwave radio was, in fact, used by many Americans to tune in to war news; however, this model is from the 1950s, which is close enough for my narrative.
 
–Bobby
 
A conceptual still life featuring a vintage Zenith Trans-Oceanic shortwave radio on a red velvet-covered table beside a framed black-and-white portrait of a young serviceman, an old newspaper, maps, a small clock, and a smoldering cigarette, evoking the tension and longing of wartime communication.
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