Above is the drawing that Vicki Presco did within an hour of my arrival at Christine’s house for the funeral. It is the first work of art done by a member of Christine’s family since she drowned two days earlier. Vicki and I were working on another drawing where we put dots on the paper denoting people. I assigned names to these dots. One dot was Vicki’s son, Shamus Dundon. No sooner was that established, then Vicki got up and took the pad with her. Five minutes went by. There was a new drawing on the pad.
“I had Drew do this drawing so she could get in touch with her feelings. See these two people up here with the line between them. This line moves this person over a few feet because Drew wanted to be accurate. It looks like four people are down in this cover, but, there is only three, Christine, Drew, and myself.”
I was flabbergasted! Vicki had removed her son from a DEATH SCENE – and employed our eight year old niece in this deception. I knew Drew did not draw this. How is she getting in touch with her feelings. Drew is a accomplished artist as eight. She is in the family room playing videos with Shamus. Vicki used ART to create a huge lie, because she sensed I was about to go question my niece and nephew, get their firsthand account of how my sister drowned. Vicki had used ART to block my discovery, my right to own the truth.
Later, she said Shamus was up in the house playing video games. One of the first things she told me was how they pressed their noses up against the window of the main part of the house, and wished they could watch T.V.
“I thought you said the main house was locked. How then did Shamus play video games?”
“I never said it was locked!”
My daughter never asked me about my natal family history, because she formed a secret bond with Vicki – who filled her in – gave her version of events. Vicki made me out to be insane, I accusing Vicki and her son of murdering Christine. I had sent my ten page investigation to John Detro who wrote for the Pinecone which I thought was a real newspaper. I said;
“Now that it is established egregious lies have been told, one has to consider all possibilities, including murder.”
It turns out John was a good friend of Christine and the gallery girls, and the Pinecone is a commercial ad paper. John shares my family investigation with my family. Shamus gives me a call.
After the funeral, and in front of my friends Michael, and Christine’s friend, Raphael, Vicki asks me to come live in the house with Shannon so as to prevent her from stealing from the estate that Christine will to her two daughters. I refused!
“If you fear she will take things, why don’t you take that video camera her and make a video record of everything in the house!”
My cute little innocent sister’s face turned mean and she spat this at me;
“Why don’t you do this yourself – Mr. Big Idea Man!”
You could hear a pin drop. Vicki called up a lock smith and changed all the locks on the door, and in front of everyone, handed the keys to Shannon.
“I want everyone to note I handed the keys to Shannon. We will do video inventory.”
While my detective friend were outside watching the locksmith, he said;
“We should get him over her to pop the trunk on your sister’s car. Look how weighted down it is. Do you think the partnership prints are in here?”
A week later Vicki takes me and Michael to lunch, and makes me an offer. If I sell her prints at fairs and shows, she will give me 50% of the sales. She already asked me to build shelves for a couple of thousand prints…….in her closet! I tell her I am too busy. She has her married boyfriend do it. The family partnership prints have a face value of $3,000,000 million dollars. This partnership was formed between our extremely abusive and criminal father, and his two daughter’s, with money Vic inherited from his mother, and $60,000 dollars Vicki took from her abusive husband who threatened to kill her, and this she joined the Navy.
When Vic inherited his mother’s estate, he approached Christine about doing a series of images for a partnership. She had taking time off from painting in order to concentrate on raising Drew. Vic contributed a $100,000 dollars. After HER PARENT raped her daughter, Rosamond refused to give the other monster and proceeds from the sale of these images – or return them!
As it turned out, Vic’s mother had all her grandchildren in her Will, but when none of us showed up at her death bed, she disinherited Vic’s four children, she left it all to Vic (as planned).
“Didn’t Vicki tell you my mother was dying?”
“No!”
“That little scoundrel! I invested my mother’s estate in Christine in order to increase the monies my mother intended for her four grandchildren.”
When I went to the County Seat and looked at Melba’s Will, and read we Presco Children were disinherited, I understood my two sisters were in on the scam to render Mark and I – out of the doe!
Here is Julie Lynch rendering Rosamond the Victim of the Century;
“If Christine’s parents had embraced her talent, there might be existing works from her childhood, but this was not to be. Fearing that Christine would steal her brother’s spotlight as the family artist, Christine’s mother, Rosemary, forbade Christine to draw at home. The only time she could express herself was at school or in her closet, by flashlight, when everyone else was asleep.”
Do you see how I – a five year old boy – am rendered the person ultimately responsible for Rosamond’s Abuse? If only I did not exhibit any gifts. Why didn’t Rosemary save my works of art? Why didn’t Julie Dearest ask this phantom kindergarten teacher about my talent? How old would she be? How did they find her? WHAT THE FUCK IS HER NAME? I would love to be in a courtroom when Julie Lynch is asked that question! FRAUD! FRAUD! MORE FRAUD!
I am done with this bullshit Sanity Trial many folks have subjected me to. Here is what my sane brother wanted included in my biography. He is a right-wing fascist with a excellant work record. Vicki is a evangelical. These are the designated sane siblings. They both read the proof of Tom Snyder’s awful deceitful – whatever – that he wooed my daughter and her mother to be a part of! It is obvious to me that Patrice thinks I am too mentally disturbed to author a book, least get it published. When I sensed this, I made sure my daughter heard this;
“Christine was severely mentally ill when she gave me credit for her success. I am mentally ill, and have been treated in therapy. Many artists and writers have a history of mental illness.”
In 1963, my mother was arrested for prostitution and for making porno movies for a known Mafia figure that we met in our home. Rosemary fled to Los Angeles so she would not go to jail. She hired an old mentally challenged hag to be our live-in maid. As THE ONLY family artist, I was not worried about my art. I was extremely worried about my siblings. Bill came to live with us for the three months Rosemary was gone, after his father threw him out of the house. Mark’s friend, Rick Young stayed the night at our house most of the time, he traumatized by his alcoholic father. Here are the abanonded children who worked together to have the most peaceful time ever….on San Sebastion Avenue.
Mark
Greg
Christine
Vicki
Bill
Rick
If it is/was true, that Christine had been hiding in the closet with a flashlight, drawing, then here was her chance to emerge, come out of the darkness, and render works alongside the two people she loved most in the world, her brother Greg, and his best friend, Bill Arnold. That my ungifted and ugly sister used art to keep me in the dark, is an abomination. Vicki and her covert allies – destroyed this Creative Family History!
Jon Presco
https://rosamondpress.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/elmer-big-bones-remmer/
https://rosamondpress.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/mark-presco-assails-women-and-parasites/
https://rosamondpress.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/mark-presco-racist-hater-of-women/
E-mail from Patrice
I¯ve been thinking about the apparent conflict in regard to the biography. Perhaps there is information I don¡¯t have but it seems to me that a biography written by the brother would be a very different book from a very different perspective than one written by an outsider and so there would be room for the creation of both of them.
I know when I am really interested in someone or something, I like to get my hands on as
many resources as possible to get information from a variety of points of view. So I don¡¯t see that it needs to be an either/or situation.
But, as I said, perhaps there is something I don¡¯t know that you do. We can talk about it more. Tom Snyder seems like a really nice guy also. It seems he is supportive of you and he definitely played an important part in connecting you with Heather and that is important and not to be ignored.
An essay by Julie Lynch
From simple sketches in pencil to finely detailed watercolors and oils, this comprehensive collection provides a rare opportunity to experience the breadth of Christine Rosamond’s work. It also gives us a chance to understand the artist behind the work and see her evolve from a teenager, struggling to balance her need for expression with her fear of what her art might reveal, to a self-actualized woman, strong enough to make peace with her past and surrounded herself with the people she loved.
THE BEGINNING: Oakland, California
If Christine’s parents had embraced her talent, there might be existing works from her childhood, but this was not to be. Fearing that Christine would steal her brother’s spotlight as the family artist, Christine’s mother, Rosemary, forbade Christine to draw at home. The only time she could express herself was at school or in her closet, by flashlight, when everyone else was asleep. Though we don’t have images to prove it, Christine’s kindergarten teacher has said that, by age five, Christine was already drawing with adult skill. She can remember Christine’s pictures of animals having near perfect detail and perspective.
In addition to oppressing Christine artistically, Rosemary also dominated Christine with physical violence. Trying to support four children with only a high school education and little help from her alcoholic husband, Rosemary was often enraged. She took this rage out on Christine and Christine’s earliest known works reflect it. In Teenage Drawing II, her subject is reticent and withdrawn. In Teenage Drawing III, the woman looks shocked and angry.
OVERNIGHT SENSATION: Los Angeles, California
After a failed marriage and the birth of her daughter Shannon, Christine fell in love with Scott Hale, an ambitious and demanding lighting designer. Recognizing Christine’s talent, Scott invited her to move in with him so that she could concentrate on her art. Feeling encouraged for the first time, Christine was able to paint with a bold new energy. A year later, at Scott’s insistence, Christine showed a number of these portraits at the 1972 Westwood Art Fair. Recognizing a fresh voice, art dealer Ira Kaplan bought out the collection and commissioned Christine to create an additional painting for him every week thereafter.
In journal entries, Christine articulated that, for her, painting was not only a means to a better life, it was also a way to prove that Rosemary could no longer control her. This rebellious energy is what I believe led to Christine’s success and can be seen in her now classic portraits: Summer Mood, Denim and Silk, and Simone. As defiant as they are beautiful, the penetrating eyes in each of these paintings tell the viewer that times have changed. Women are standing up for themselves and taking their power. Right in step with the ‘70’s feminist zeitgeist, the public – especially women – identified with this combination of strength and beauty and bought millions of Christine’s prints.
The rebellious energy that gave Christine her success would also, in the end, foil her relationship with Scott. Already a drinker, Christine started consuming more alcohol to quiet her fears and anxiety. But the drinking made things worse. Every time Christine got drunk, she would become convinced that Scott didn’t love her and would fly into a rage. Even though Scott adored Christine and was deeply bonded with Shannon, the attacks were too much for him and he ended the relationship. Christine was devastated by this loss; though, as we can see in Mother and Child, she was even more concerned that the break up was hurting Shannon.
FAME: New York, New York
In an attempt to elevate her work from mass merchandise to fine art, Christine started making lithographs for Jack Solomon and found herself falling for a fine art printer who was married. Older and more mature, the printer knew how to make Christine feel safe and appreciated. We can see that as Christine softened during this time, her subjects softened as well (Autumn) We can also see Christine becoming more technically proficient as she captured her subjects with greater detail (Victoria ) and emotional depth (Contemplation). Perhaps the longer that Christine was away from Rosemary’s tyranny, the better able she was to connect to her own self and, as she healed, her subjects became more complete.
Besides being a happy and productive time for Christine, this was also her most successful period. With the meteoric sales of these lithographs, Christine became the most published artist in the world, eclipsing even Norman Rockwell, Salvador Dali, and Alexander Calder. Unfortunately, this joyous time would not last. Tristesse expresses the sense of longing that Christine felt as she began to realize that her married lover was ultimately unattainable.
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