Remembrance -The Pink Chair Project #8 "Sailing Home"

SAILING HOME

Oil on Canvas

16x16

Now Reserved for Sale at end of show

Can Wait List 

Rockport, MA is a special place for me and has always nourished my art. I used to say my car went there all by itself!  So it naturally came to pass that I had to take "Mom" there too. I set up right on the T wharf but instead of doing "Motif #1" (below), the building that has inspired so many artists, I placed the chair on the pier high over the water, looking out to sea, through the jetties on either side. It was a gray day, cloudy, but comfortable. It was a 4 hour session, longer than usual because of the interruptions. The sky was pretty boring, all grey and kind of flat and I said in a kidding manner, "Mom, can you do something about that?" Within 15 minutes, the sky took on a interesting pattern of clouds with tiny bits of blue, which I gladly painted in. I left the water empty until almost the last minute, when a children's sailing school with small sailboats came tacking back home after their lesson. Without thinking, I quickly painted them into the piece, and it was done. Later, after packing up the car, an extreme tiredness came over me. I could barely make it to the bench, where I laid down for a while. Ravenous, I finally got up, and still tired, barely made it to the restaurant. I ate quietly and again, barely made it back to the car. I have never been so tired after painting, and had no fatigue during the painting process. Later, showing the painting to my friend Teresa, a therapist, I told her the story. She said: Lynne, you are doing grief work. You need to plan a nap after every painting. I said I didn't feel sad or grief; I had just been painting. She said "Lynne, look at it! That is grief work if I ever saw it!" Then I saw the powerful message of that small (16x16) piece. I instantly knew the title.

Motif #1   Rockport, MA

I am now sharing my current show with my readers and daily paintworks viewers. This show is currently traveling and will be available for purchase after the travel is completed, around mid-2014. Art work may be held until then with a 10% down payment. E-mail me or see my pink chair project blog, for details

This exhibit tells the story about painting a pink plastic Adirondack chair. The chair represents my mother, Carolyn Elizabeth Pedersen Schulte, of Rochester, NY, who passed on June 5th, 2011. She was a wonderful woman, full of love for everyone around her, and she loved this bright color pink. She was proud of me as an artist and would love what I am doing. I take the chair to favorite places of hers and to places or situations I know she would have liked. It is a way for me to grieve and to celebrate her life. I talk to her as I paint and make sure that she would want to be where the chair has been placed.