Hello,
Today I would like to share something very intimate. The inspiration for the paintings I did for the grant exhibit. Actually, none of the ones below will be part of the exhibit – but they are all part of the same process.
As I wrote in the previous post while my beloved cities are empty, I turned myself to another source of energy…
Along with everybody else, I stayed at home and went looking through my memories for that feeling of joy. That vibration, that feeling we have when we are with someone else, what does it look like? What else makes me want to paint? How does it feel to let these feelings come out? That’s what I explored during this Grant (with the amazing help of my mentor, Caitlin Albritton that poked that out of me!).
I wanted that experience to be free of all the details and diversions that our eyes can see. What came to me were these precious childhood memories… They are at the same time so strong and so faded away. I love how in this kind of memory, what lasts is exactly what matters to me. That feeling, that energy you feel when you are with someone. In some, I have just the feeling that my sister is with me. But she is not in the painting although her energy is there and changed the way I painted. Just like a dream when you know who is with you even if you cannot see their face…
For these experiments, I used acrylic paint and, to draw, I used charcoal instead of the markers I am used to. That allows me to draw faster and respond easier to the feelings and fluid images that come to my mind…
It’s interesting how this Grant turned out to respond in a way to what is happening in the world. I had to look inside, and with that came memories of simple things, like listening to my dad play the guitar, eating grapes with the neighbors, mate tea with my grandfather, my great-grandma on the couch, and so many other memories you will see in the exhibit. (ok, the one with the samba party is a little too social for these times, but all the others fit perfectly, right?) 😛
Hope they make you feel something as they are my very raw feelings…
Patricia
www.patikd.com