Embracing Imperfection: My Journey with "Still Life" and the Challenge of Defining My Artistic Identity
The hardest time I have is trying to decide what type of painter I want to be and how to not stress over perfection. Anyone who knows me knows that most of the time I am very laid back and Go With The Flow could be my mantra. There are very few things that can upset me anymore. Stupid people are one of the only things that can make me swear. It was suggested, as it is every year, that we (fellow artists and me) apply for a Grassroots type grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. So my friend Charlotte and I sat down and filled out all the information needed and submitted our applications. I got the grant. I did not get all the money I asked for but I got something and more importantly I received recognition for a good idea.
My idea was to document the abandoned and neglected houses of Henderson County. We are in the process of widening roads and so many houses are part of eminent domain and they were being demolished so I wanted to show those, but more importantly and more interesting to me were the beautiful stone buildings that stood along the highways and country roads here that had holes in the roof, or trees growing inside. These beautiful structures deserve recognition. There is one building in town that probably could have been considered the jewel of the town at one point. It had tarps on the roof and damage to all the wood soffits and window casings. The good news is that a development firm has taken it over and will restore it to its former glory. That gave me the idea of the title of the exhibit to be “Still Life” as in “there is still life in these old structures”. Painting these structures with their decay has been hard. I see only the beauty of the structure and not the scar. I am also painting most of them in oil so I have to be very patient.
I found that the more I told people about my project, the more people said that yes, they often wondered about this place or that. Some people thought I was doing some work like rehabbing houses until I explained that I was a fine art painter. Everyone wonders what went on in the house or business that caused it to be abandoned, so I set out to find some answers.
More to come…
