Demonstrating Women I Might Have Known

I'm always a little hesitant to share my methods of painting the women in my series of Women I Might Have Known. It's not because I don't want anyone to know my tricks. My relationship with these women is intimate. I spend a great deal of time going through my picture albums, selecting a photo that speaks to me and then researching to learn the story related to the photo. Who these women are is very important to me. At the same time I am making decisions about what story I want to tell. I don't want to talk about poverty, depression or other forms of sadness. I'm always searching for a way to show true character.

 

This is a family picture of women from my husband's family. Knowing the life they lived supports my relationship with the photograph, making the women real and helping me tell a story. I knew they were mother and daughter. I loved the affectionate way the younger woman was lending support to the elder woman. I could see the mother was tolerating her daughter's help. It conveyed trust, humor, love and friendship. And the thing I found most compelling about the photo - both women were barefoot. Knowing the family history, I knew these women had been canning in the kitchen, and it was very hot work, especially in July. They were taking a break, removing hose and shoes,walking on soft grass to the creek so they might dip their feet in the cool water. Catching them on their walk was a lucky moment for the photographer- producing a beautiful and rare photograph of daily life on the farm.                                                                                                    

I spend quite a bit of time determining how these women will fit into my theme. I look through my patterned papers for the right surface to build the painting on. I make a drawing of them for placement and make decisions regarding their setting, clothing, colors. I also consider what message the painting will convey to the viewer. I like to have all of those items resolved before I begin the painting. This painting, Taking a Break, became a successful Mother's Day card.

 

I will be at Aar River Gallery on Saturday, October 12 from 2 - 4 demonstrating one of my Women I Might Have Known paintings. It's a free demonstration to the public, so stop by if you would like to see more or have questions about my work.

 

                                                                                                               Susan

 

It's about the dresses

It's about the dresses was originally published in July, 2011

 

Golden Years 9x9 inch framed, a painting of my grandmother, and the first in my series

Women I Might Have Known

 

My grandmother was a talented and resourceful woman. I was young when she passed away so my relationship with her was a variety of tiny memories swirling around that occasionally become defined by stories from my older brother and sister. I remember she sewed and she quilted. I think she moved often when she was younger, and never had a home long enough or a yard big enough to establish a garden. If she could have gardened, I would guess that she would have grown vegetables before she would have invested in flowers. But I like to think she had a lot of flowers growing and there's a reason for that assumption.

 

I am most fortunate to have one of the quilts she made. My grandmother was a frugal woman.She recycled her worn dresses, cutting the best parts from them to piece her quilt tops. My quilt is a summer garden exploding with every color, surrounded in sunshine and bordered with a blue sky and points. Each of those little flower design pieces are snapshot memories of my grandmother. As I remember the trim of an apron, or the length of a summer dress, she becomes a real person to me, and her love of flowers becomes fact.

When I started this series of Women I Might have Known, I knew something would solidify my project. I've made half a dozen paintings in this series now and I'm pretty sure it's about the dresses. My grandmother wore floral print dresses with aprons trimmed in bands of more flowers. She was from an era of orchid corsages for Easter and special occasions, and pretty little caplet hats embellished with flowers for Sunday mornings and special occasions. I remember that she had a a quilt frame that she lowered from the ceiling to move her chair around and stitch. She had a treadle sewing machine that seemed dangerous to me. She had two purses, and one of them had Bazooka Bubble Gum in it and I believed I was the only person who knew it. But always when I think of her, she is wearing a floral print dress.
Susan