A stroke of a brush has joined the generations.

In 1941, Lelia Freeman walked into the University of Georgia and began to study art under the well-known artist Lamar Dodd. It was the beginning of a lifetime love of creating on paper.

Her children grew up believing the basement of the ranch-style brick house would always smell of oil paint.

Her grandchildren grew up surrounded with their grandmother’s art – and sometimes found themselves as her subjects.

And, now, nearly 70 years later, her granddaughter will share those brush strokes and pen marks with La-Grange.

As a senior at an Augusta high school, Allison Williams started thinking about her senior project long before her final high school year. In order to graduate, all students must complete a senior project – a project that includes research, a written paper and a minimum of 15 hours invested.

“You can learn a skill, build something, do a job shadowing, there are lots of things you can do,” Williams said.

Her “Gran’s” art was the perfect fit.

“I had always heard about Lamar Dodd but I didn’t know much about him,” Williams said. “I decided to research him and then show Gran’s art for my project.”

Born in LaGrange in 1909, Dodd was a prolific painter who was exhibited widely and honored nationally. He grew up in LaGrange and first studied art with special permission at LaGrange College, which was then a women’s college. In 1937 he began teaching at the University of Georgia. Both LaGrange College and University of Georgia have named art buildings in honor of Dodd.

Freeman studied art at the University of Georgia during the World War II years.

“It wasn’t much of a co-ed school at the time. We were a small group,” recalled Freeman, who later married and moved to Greenville, where she continues to live and paint.

She worked her way through school – she had a scholarship playing in the orchestra and had a job in the art department.

“I was a general flunky,” she said. “My association with Mr. Dodd was pretty close. I did errands and such. I baby sat for his daughter. Mrs. Dodd had students out for pancakes. It was really a close group. He was a strong presence.”

Dodd is still a strong presence for Freeman, who recently looked critically at one of her paintings and said, “That line bothers me. I don’t think Mr. Dodd would like that.”

Williams also has learned to look at her grandmother’s art with a different eye.

“Learning about him has brought out my love for art,” she said of  Dodd. “I don’t think I understood what I was looking at. When Mr. Dodd painted, he didn’t copy what he saw; he was looking to express what it was to him. The meaning and interpretation was important.”

She sees that influence in much of her grandmother’s art as well. She also sees her own history.

As Williams and Freeman walked through the house, looking at individual pieces, it’s not always art techniques they discussed – it was the stories.

There’s the sketch series of Shag, the dog that had 44 puppies.

There’s a construction paper design of Jesus standing on the bow of a boat, created for vacation Bible school at Greenville Baptist Church.

There’s a scene of a snow-covered bank and creek.

“There was a dog there. I was glad when he left because I don’t do dogs,” Freeman recalled.

There’s a painting of orange and gold and red trees stretching across an October afternoon. Freeman has a story for that one, too.

“I was visiting friends recently and saw a painting. I said, ‘That’s beautiful! Oh, I wish I’d painted that.’ They said, ‘You did. You gave it to us for a wedding present,’ ” Freeman said.

They let her borrow it for the show.

Freeman also has a painting by Dodd.

“Mr. Dodd was demonstrating watercolor technique, and he used my materials and paper, so I asked, ‘Would you please sign that?’ And he did,” she recalled.

Granddaughter and grandmother spent a recent weekend choosing the right combination of art to show, then another two days grouping the pieces and hanging them at a LaGrange residence.

The project will take far more than the required 15 hours, but for Williams, it’s no longer about a project or even a grade.

“It’s always been on the wall,” she said. “Getting it all out and realizing she painted it, it’s amazing.”

— A retrospective of Lelia Freeman’s artworks will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at 312 Country Club Road in LaGrange. The show is free and open to the public.

Sherri Brown can be reached at sbrown@lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 240.