from Start to Finish: 2021

2021 was a year of much work; yet it felt there was little to show. As the year wanes, I celebrate hidden processes. Quietly seeing things move from start to finish. Sometimes taking longer than expected but moving forward nonetheless.

This portrait is of local artist Robert Garey. This version is painted on Arches cold pressed watercolor paper. A second unfinished and hidden version, painted on Arches hot pressed watercolor paper, sits in my studio. I chose this subject matter to compare the watercolor surfaces in regards to ability to capture details. The lettering, glasses and ring particularly.

When I look at a finished painting, I see all my personal musings of a time as I worked. These paintings consist of more than pigment to me. For me this one, holds a portion of the fatigue and slowness, I felt moving through 2021. I painted slower, searched for the little details and read more. Some years are for hidden work, others are for the visible.

Selfie of the Artist
watercolor on paper

The quote below I read in September and “tend to your own knitting” was my quiet anchor as I navigated through the waves of 2021. Wishing you all a 2022 that ministers to you. Be your knitting hidden or seen.

“So tend to your knitting. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God. Forget about deciding what’s right for each other. Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. ”

— Paul to the people of Rome as found in The Message translation by Eugene Peterson

Study of Christina

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.

View fullsize

Zeitgeist
watercolor with gold leaf
22” x 15”

Eyelets and Lace

Commissioned as a special birthday gift for their father, this set of two small paintings was completed over the past two months. And I LOVE them!

Here's why:

1. The girls did not coordinate their outfits. They were photographed at different times and yet, somehow despite living miles apart, they complimented one another in their choices! One in black with eyelets in the fabric, the other in a pale white lace.

2. They are grownups! I'm mostly asked to paint children. But I think it says something when women are as treasured in their adult years as when they are young through a portrait.

3. The bit of a Mona Lisa smile in Rachel. And the kindness seen in Kaitlin's eyes. Both girls have beautiful smiles and it was difficult to choose which expression I wanted to capture in the portraits. (I seriously have at least five more for each of them that I wanted to paint!)

They are incredibly intelligent young ladies.  I am pretty sure these two will each be leaders in their own right, if they are not already.

4. Watercolor meets lace. The lace detailing took some time to paint.  For watercolorists, it entailed so much of that backward, saving the whites thinking - that very thing that is such a challenge but also one of those things that is most endearing to us.

5. The hair! So many lights and darks to capture in such beautiful tones! All these details were delightful!

6. Painting a set of sisters. My own are very important to me. I hoped that a hint of their own person was present but also in a way that showed how the two can compliment one another.

Unique yet still sharing much.

Thank you so much to this family for allowing me to be part of creating such a meaningful gift. It was an honor and a privilege!

"A sister is both your mirror - and your opposite." ~ Elizabeth Fishel

Rachel
5 inches by 5 inches
watercolor
 

Kaitlin
5 inches by 5 inches
watercolor

From Across the Pond...And Looking Back

I recently had the privilege of painting a set of grandchildren for a special friend.

Three of the four happened to be British...The morning I went to photograph the three British children, they had arrived the night before from that long flight.

And it made me think of how excited I always was - as I child to go see my family in Germany. And how that was my normal !   Flying to another country to see family.

I now recognize that as an incredible gift and also how very difficult it is to be SO FAR from family.

So for my friend Jennifer, I hope these little paintings make all four of these sweet grands of yours feel close when miles may make it seem and feel otherwise.

All four have such distinct personalities but I can tell each one of these little ones adore you to the moon and back!