Finery

Finery   oil/canvas   18 x 18 x 1.5

Group gestures are among my favorite subjects to paint.  I love the multitudinous relationships and the spaces and counter spaces that provide visual rhythm and excitement!

This painting was conceived by an old family photo of 5 sisters (of 9) that was for years displayed on a shelf at the home of my husband's parents.....it had always caught my eye.

I am assuming that this particular photo was from a wedding photo and guessing that the bride was Aunt Bella, who is in the middle wearing white.  Hats were a fashion necessity.  

Destroying is part of my artistic process.  I have the feeling that, in wiping about passages, including faces, results in a bigger picture where the individual likenesses are less important than the overall feeling of the group.  I happen to love this work.  It was exciting to paint. In addition, it was worked on a square canvas, which I have always found to be difficult.

I will challenge myself to paint in a square format more often!

 

Un certain je ne sais quoi

Apple Series   watercolor   14 x 10

Painting is an unrelenting task of constant decision-making...for me a combination of honoring the subject, great design and my own personal aesthetic.  The more freedom you yearn for, the more difficult the task, I think.  Sometimes, the parts are all individually accomplished as best as you can, yet the results do not move or stimulate as intended.

In this case the composition,  of two apples in varying degrees of slice, makes my heart sing.  This is how I want to paint....it has everything that I try to express in terms of paint quality.

It has that rare quality of a certain je ne sais quoi....a certain something.