Grandpa’s Art Took Me Places | Recreating His Paintings in Pastels — Part 3

What happens when your grandfather’s painted plates start falling off the wall?

You keep drawing them. 😂

I’ve now recreated 12 of my grandpa’s acrylic original artworks in soft pastels (see Part 1 and Part 2 in the blog!), and along the way, his art has literally taken me places, from the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse to Juno Beach, West Palm Beach, and my first live online session.

Part 3: Re-creating Robert George Etienne's original acrylic painted plates in soft pastels, by Jackie Morreale

Honoring Grandpa, Robert George Etienne, by Re-Creating his Art (Part 3): Going Places
By Jackie Morreale

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Hi there. My name is Jackie Morreale, and I'm the host of Wisdom for Wannabes.

Apparently I have not finished recreating my grandpa's art.

I really didn't expect to do a part two.
I definitely didn't expect to do a part three.
But here we are.

Once again, happy 100th heavenly birthday to my grandpa, Robert George Etienne.

I moved the installation of Grandpa's painted plates out of my podcast recording studio, to a more permanent location.

As I was reinstalling this very tall six by nine-foot-ish installation, plates started falling. 

Every night, there would be another plate on the floor.

Fortunately, they're plastic. First:

• The scuba diver and turtle fell.
• Then the pelican plate.
• Then the gazebo.
• Then the lighthouse.

I started thinking: Maybe I'm using really cheap tape?

Or maybe, I'm meant to keep going with this project?

Morreale, J. (2026, August) Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse [Pastels on paper].

RE-CREATION 1: STRIPED LIGHTHOUSE

The first piece that I created was this lighthouse.

I decided to venture to Broward County, and find the Hillsborough Inlet Lighthouse.

I found a park across the water with an incredible view, and this amazing two-tone lighthouse. Grandpa's lighthouse had a red and white striped pattern, but this actual lighthouse has this beautiful architectural structure, black in the upper portion and white below, with its cylindrical middle and these supports that come together toward the top.

I had my ruler out because there were so many angles and structural lines. I spent more than an hour drawing it.

The water on the park side was incredibly peaceful. People were snorkeling.

There was beauty above the water and underneath it. It was just one of those perfect days.

Then I went back to my car, there was a $45 parking ticket on the front windshield. Apparently there was an art tax for creating this particular drawing. The more you know.

Morreale, J. (2026, August) West Palm Beach Park with waterski lodge [Pastels on paper].

RE-CREATION 2: GAZEBO

This second painting brought me back to a park in West Palm Beach that I really love.

Grandpa's painting has this beautiful garden and gazebo surrounded by flowers and layers of foliage. I saw this elevated structure beside the lake where people watch waterskiing.

I thought it looked reminiscent of this beautiful gazebo that he had done. It's not exactly the same scene as grandpa's. His is more, I think, fantastical, more spring-like. More ornate.

Mine had a lake, reflections of palm trees, wildflowers growing right along the water, and layer upon layer of trees. I noticed something that I hadn't noticed or thought about before. The trees don't all look the same in this park, they all have different leaves, different shapes. The shadows were dancing across the path.

Very different interpretation from grandpa's painting, but somehow I was able to find magic in both.

I think that's one of the things I'm learning through this whole project. We don't have to recreate someone's world exactly. We can take what they loved and find it in our own.

Morreale, J. (2026, August) White Pelican [Pastels on paper].

RE-CREATION 3: PELICAN

The third painting was a little bit scarier because I did it live. It was my first live drawing session as part of my new 'Wisdom Wednesdays' live series. Grandpa's Pelican painting is incredibly simple. It's basically a black background with a white pelican.

beak and feet are this beautiful yellow-orange. That's almost it. But I found the contrast absolutely genius.

The more I drew it, the more I appreciated it. The proportions of the wing, the belly, the head.The curve of the beak, the webbed feet, even the way the individual feathers were suggested on the wing.

There was so much going on in such a simple composition. He didn't need a lot, he just needed the right things... and suddenly you have this incredibly striking image.

I also think it's funny that I'm so drawn to animals. The same kind of visual simplicity. Maybe some things really do get passed down.

Morreale, J. (2026, August) Sheldon the Loggerhead Sea Turtle in Juno Beach [Pastels on paper].

RE-CREATION 4: SCUBA DIVER & TURTLE

Finally, the turtle. This is especially fun because I had a reference of my own.

Last year I had seen a loggerhead sea turtle at Loggerhead Marine Life Center.

He would come right up to the window and greet people. When I was thinking about how to recreate grandpa's scuba diver and turtle painting, I thought, 'Why not just draw Sheldon?'

I drove up to Juno Beach, and drew my own version of Grandpa's sea turtle painting. I had my little Loggerhead turtle stuffed animal with me.

It was such a sweet experience. I talked with some of the volunteers. They told me how much they missed Sheldon.

He had just gotten released last week!

There were other beautiful sea turtles there too. What I really love about this place is that It's a rehabilitation facility. The goal is to care for those animals and then return them back to the ocean.

Sitting there drawing a turtle that I've seen in this environment, that was released back into the ocean, made the whole thing feel very connected.

Morreale, J. (2026, August) West Palm Beach Park and Waterski Lodge closeup [Pastels on paper].

ART WILL TAKE YOU PLACES

By this point, I started thinking: People say things to kids all the time, like:
'Your sport is going to take you places.'
​'Your brains are going to take you places.'

Grandpa's art has literally taken me places.

This project has taken me to the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse.
This project has taken me to Juno Beach.
This project has also taken me live, completely out of my normal routine.
It's gotten me into parks, onto beaches, and into my own imagination.

I remembered something else: Grandpa used his art to take himself places, too.

He spoke some German after serving in World War II. He would travel to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. He would sit on a train and look out the window and paint.

He told me what he would actually use to mix his paints... his own spit... which might sound disgusting, but also kind of hilarious.

He was practical, adventurous, creative, a little quirky, and completely willing to make his own way through the world.

So, Grandpa, thank you for leaving behind enough pieces of yourself for us to keep discovering you. Happy heavenly 100th birthday, for the third time.

I'll see you when the next plate falls off the wall.

Jackie Morreale with White Pelican in soft pastels and Grandpa Robert George Etienne's original White Pelican acrylic painted plate.

Morreale, J. (2026, August) Sheldon the Loggerhead Sea Turtle in Juno Beach closeup [Pastels on paper].