Sunday, October 24, 2010

To Tell a Story...

I would like to introduce you to my "new" studio. It is one of the bedrooms in the house we are renting but is quite lovely and also a luxury to have such a nice space to work in. The manikin in the corner is named Tilly, after "Terrible Tilly", a lighthouse off the coast here that has quite a story behind it. Google "terrible tilly" to see images and read the history behind the Tillamook Rock lighthouse. It is a wonderful piece of lore and she is still out there.
The manikin will be a stand in only. She will also be able to model drapery for me to draw. She is not a replacement for a live model. I do find her handy to take the same pose as the model I am sketching when she is not available.
To the left, not in the picture, is my model stand. A very modest affair that has some shelf space too behind the curtain. Not very big but it works just fine. At the moment I am still working on a charcoal drawing of my husband and doing some color studies in oil paint. I have also been collecting enough gear to be able to do some plein air painting.
I often get asked what kind of painting I do. Well, I am still working on the painting part but I know what kind of painting I intend to do. It would be called narrative realism. I want to paint stories. Specifically, I want to paint the beauty and stories of women 50 years of age and older. I want to paint women in nature or landscapes. I have so very many stories of incredible women to tell through my painting, most of whom I have been fortunate to have known and been mentored by. They might not be well known household names but they are powerful and influential nonetheless. Then, there are also women of the past to paint, such as the Fates and other women from mythology that speak to me.
I don't think I will be running out of stories to paint anytime soon. I will probably run out of time before I do the stories! I have very specific goals for my work and a way to go before I have acquired the skills I need to fulfill those goals.
So, this is the long answer to the question, "What do you paint?". The short answer? Simply this:
I paint stories.

2 comments:

Theresa said...

It looks beautiful! What a great space. Glad to hear from you too. I can't wait to see some of those painted stories either.

R. Delight said...

Thanks Theresa, good to hear from you as well!

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