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| Grande Dame oil/canvas 30 x 40 x 1.5 |
I am the happiest when my work reflects who I am....my own personal recipe of design expressed through paint. In the past, I have painted what is in front of me, especially en plein air, using local color, hard edges and pretty much what would be seen from a photograph. The result has been a great dissatisfaction and uneasiness. "Grande Dame" was originally painted from photos taken from a Victorian home. Its title was "Gabled". Despite the fact that it was, in my opinion, a respectable work, it didn't thrill me. It did not represent my own ideas, my own interpretation. After a year had passed and it was time for varnishing, I decided that I just couldn't preserve it as it was. I couldn't wait for the initial destruction. It sat in my studio for a very long time. By then I had deleted all photo references. It took four sessions of discovery and interpretation. It was rechristened "Grande Dame".
While I am certain that there are those who prefer the first version, I owe it to myself to be myself. Not painting to an audience.
I felt as if I had come home. At long last.
