Here you will find a few words, alongside the works.
Weltschmerz
As the pandemic weeks have continued on, I intentionally chose a background in which I could lose myself in, silence the rhetoric and find a quiet space.
The grief I have felt is laced into this one. It is easier to paint than to find the words to describe the paralysis and deep sadness I have felt. Almost, as if stuck on a dilapidated fence observing a destructive political garden party.
On Display
Two local venues have a few paintings of mine on display this month! :-)
(Image taken from ArtFields® Instagram post)
The TRAX Visual Art Center is hosting Pause | Connect through November 14. I am honored to be included in this exhibition of local artists (Jennifer Altman, Jan Chenoweth, Colleen Critcher, Lynda English, Patz Fowle, Mike Fowle, Symon Gibson, Douglas Gray, Roger Halligan, Ashley Hamilton, Uschi Jeffcoat, Cornelia Joyner, Mary Ellen Judge, Milton Miles, Sarah Helen Mishoe, Julie Mixon, Tiffany Thomas, and Kimberly Washburn)!
If you live locally, I hope you will make time to visit and support these artists.
Seeing this exhibit in person is a completely different experience than seeing the images online.
The gallery is located at 122 Sauls Street, Lake City, SC. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11am-5pm.
My painting Vainglory, next to the work of Jennifer Altman at the Trax Visual Art Center
Bean Bar is a local coffee shop which opened in July. I am pleased to be their artist of the month during October and part of welcoming their small business to our community. Check out their website to learn what they are all about. (https://www.beanbarsc.com/ ) I appreciate the incredible attention to detail they demonstrate.
Selecting works for Bean Bar was a journey down memory lane. While some pieces are current there are a few included from the moments where I first encountered watercolor. Looking back, it is the medium which has given my paintings a voice.
A few are available on my website for sale. Bean Bar is open Monday-Saturday 7am to 6pm. If coffee is your language, you will not be disappointed by a visit. (Not to mention, you will be supporting a small business during some unusual times!)
Both venues adhere to current safety protocols and request that you wear a mask when visiting.
Providence
“There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come - the readiness is all.”
This quotation spoken by Hamlet created a new interest in the play for me. So, I watched an excellent BBC version featuring David Tennant as Hamlet last week in order to fully grasp the weight of these words. The green hardback covered Shakespeare Collection of plays which belonged to my parents was pulled off the shelf so I could read along as I watched.
The endeavor reminded me of listening to those records with story books, with the chime to turn the page. However, the Royal Shakespeare Company Production’s scenes did not follow the scenes directly, so there was much searching and page turning taking place on my part. But I loved it.
In high school I did a research paper on the messages of the birds in Macbeth. Funny, the way these birds appeared in my younger years.
In Hamlet some say through this statement he is nodding to Chapter 10 in the gospel of Matthew. He has moved from, “To Be or Not to Be” into an acceptance that some things are beyond control.
I see parallels in my world. Less than 6 months ago, I lived in a time and land of infinitives. To assume. To expect. To take. To be. To have. To do. To see. To travel. To go.
Barriers have fallen around the infinitives. A strangely constrained place of uncertainty has entered the scene which places us all under the wings of providence.
A few notes on the process behind this painting follow:
This 6” x 6”l painting was painted on aquabord. A monochromatic underpainting was applied. The decision to apply the cast shadow was made using tracing paper.
Color was then added, followed by wax medium. I love the texture found in the wax medium on the final piece. It is difficult to photograph and give this finished little bird justice so I have included a video of the process.
Study of Christina
watercolor with gold leaf
10” x 8” on paper
Charity currently wears a scarf or a mask, considering the well being of others. It works in isolation yet extends kindness as it hopes to protect.
This is an image of my sister, taken April of 2020. It is a study in monochromatic underpainting of watercolor within portraiture. I plan to create a larger scale version of it. It feels incredibly iconic to me and has a zeitgeist feel.
Christina lives in New York City. I live in South Carolina and my other sister in North Carolina. We are experiencing opposite ends of a pandemic’s spectrum. The differences are vast yet still linked.
UPDATE August 10, 2020
Below is the final painting completed from the study described in this blog post.
Zeitgeist
watercolor with gold leaf
22” x 15”