2018 New Work

Storey Rose, 2018  .  14 x 11"  .  oil on Portrait Belgian Linen Panel

It was time, after the Christmas rush, to paint my granddaughter again. Her last formal-like portrait was when she was in the neighborhood of six or seven.  She'll be eleven this summer, and although I still see the little girl in her, she's changing as she approaches the tween years. What I particularly love about this age - they may bring their tablet when visiting, but they will still bring a favorite stuffed animal to sleep with!  You cannot overestimate the sheer wonderfulness of raising smart, strong, humorous, loving girls. . .they are with you forever, whereas sons often (not always!) drift to other family orbits when they marry and have children.  That's simply an observation, certainly not a criticism. 

 Little girls are not shy about their fascination with beauty and the natural world...their soft approach to everything should be held in the highest esteem and looked upon as an absolute irreplaceable virtue. Of late, it's been rather exciting to see the rising tide of women finding their voice, finding their value, finding their place in the world. Personally, I've longed for the change for decades, and now we get to witness a sea change. Gender equality will hopefully grow until we all have a seat at the table to design our futures.

The art world has been opening up to (all) women exhibitions, and I have great hope for new avenues showcasing the excellence of female artists. The strength and dedication of women making art astounds me - they are mothers, wives AND incredibly talented/gifted, prolific artists.  To be fair and give credit where credit is due, they, more often than not these days, have supportive men behind them as they pursue their passion. That wasn't necessarily the case the last few decades - we've all seen men step up to the plate of sharing child-rearing and the tedium of keeping up a home from cooking to laundry!  It's refreshing and these young, rising female artists are being given the freedom to fly high with their work. Bravo I say!  

Case in point, Georgia O'Keeffe had to escape to New Mexico to find the space and time to paint.  That brings me to a new small painting:

This 8 x 6" painting is of a man looking at Okeeffe's Green, Yellow and Orange at Reynolda House in Winston Salem, just this past year when their exhibit featured not only her paintings but her clothing. This small room upstairs held her clothing, shoes (!) and this painting - and here was a gentleman intently lingering on his visitation.  I was captivated and felt I had to paint it. . .and so it goes, inspiration around every corner. We can be sure this painting is well-traveled, well-viewed and revered for its simplicity, line and color.  

Commission work will keep me fairly silent in the upcoming weeks, but I started this one, below, to paint in tandem and will be able to share.  

Meanwhile. . .my best to all as we inch our way out of winter.  More sun. . .need more sun!