When I look for what I want to paint next it is usually something familiar and closeby. My best paintings are of people around me and objects from my home. The challenge for me is to paint abstract shapes of light, shadow and color to depict the reality that I see. My approach is to paint from life in the northern light of my studio. Although I marvel at artists who paint what they imagine, I paint what I see and let the viewer imagine.
My hunger for color and for visual beauty must come from my grandfather who was an artist, my father who is always drawing, and my mother who let me decorate the house with her when I was young. Though I’ve always felt I was an artist I have taught myself to paint over the past 12 years by seeking master artists’ workshops.
Lately, I’ve been painting a miniature series in oils of domestic objects. After exhausting my interest in household objects I’ve entered my closet. An old favorite dream of finding a steamer trunk of costumes in an attic; the excitement I’ve always felt about dressing up; a former life in the fashion business and nostalgia for all the beautiful things I still have but could never again wear are finding their outlet in paint and pastel.
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Hi Betsy,
What are you working on at the moment?Rachel Hankinson