Tuesday, September 10, 2013

When you have nothing to say...paint


Montreal vibe.

My daughter, Julia, is doing semester of school in Perth, Australia. She left in June, and I won’t see again until at least Christmas. Luckily, these days it’s a lot easier to stay in touch with emails and Skype. In fact, when I went to write a letter to her, I realized I had nothing new to share. So I decided that I would send art instead.

The first two paintings.

I took a piece of illustration board and cut it into 5” x 5” pieces. I gessoed them and made a nice little stack in the studio. When I come in, I work on a board as a warm-up in the studio. Sometimes they are representational, sometimes abstract, but they are always fun to complete.

If she reads the blog, she'll know what's coming next.

I did this one today, it's a pixel squid.
I mailed the first one with no note, figuring that it would be more mysterious and interesting that way. I got a thank you email when it arrived. But I have been mailing a new painting every Thursday, a routine I maintained even when I went off to Montreal. I believe that the mail service is rather changeable, and they all arrive on different days. And I suspect one envelope has gotten lost. Julia wrote yesterday to say that her roommates, all guys, are rather jealous. They say she gets the most mail, and their moms don’t do anything like that. I suspect their moms do more useful things, like supply food and host dinners, but artist-moms are not always practical. 
Julia has begun an art wall to display the works.

Vancouver...

---to Perth, with love.

Although Julia has already been going away to university for many years now, Australia seems like it’s that much farther away, and accordingly, I miss her more. The art pieces are my way of saying that I'm thinking of her, always.



6 comments:

  1. I'm going to have to expand the art wall! Can't wait for whats next. Cam loves the paintings as well, the tiger is his favourite. Also, the lace painting is not lost! It is on our bookshelf in a still life arrangement with my stuffed quokka and Cam's scuba man.

    I think its a great idea - a way of decorating with beautiful art when you live far away and can't bring the bigger paintings with you. My goal is to have the largest collection of MAT art in the world.

    Anyways, I love the paintings. They remind me of home and of how lucky I am to have such a cool mom.

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    1. Awww... but, you stuffed a quokka! I am shocked. Good to know that the Postal Service is completely efficient. And I am cool.

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  2. What a wonderful idea! I like that there is both freedom in terms of the type of paintings and constraints through the use of a deadline and a fixed size-I think that this approach results in more creativity.

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    1. Unlimited creativity is the most limiting thing!

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  3. You are one amazing mother! Lucky Julia - although I can't complain as I have many lovely glass plates, bowls, pendants, and sculptures thanks to my mom!

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    1. Thanks so much! That means a lot to me, especially hearing that today. And artist moms do have many benefits.

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