(Staff Submission)
Theme: Caretaking
Medium: Watercolor on Paper
Artist Statement:
I have always wanted to be an artist – a full time, professional artist. My parents never had the ability to send me to college, and I have always heard the term “starving artist”, so I chose a different route. I often think of how different my life might have been had I at least given it a shot. Painting is my therapy, my personal well-being, and never more so than in these uncertain times. My daughter sent me a set of watercolors as a gift in April, a medium that I never got into. I was excited, yet nervous, as it is very different than the acrylic and oil paints that I have dabbled with. I finished this painting only 3 weeks after receiving that first set of watercolor paints. This is my submission titled Pandemic Peonies. Peonies remind me of my mother as they were her favorite flower, and I was her caregiver during the last year of her life. These were handpicked from my flower garden, another task needing caretaking that seems to take my mind to other places – much like painting. So, two things that bring me comfort during this pandemic seemed like the perfect subject. I hope you enjoy.