30 x 40

Oil on Linen

All of my laundry lady paintings are from memory and take place in an ideal setting of my own choice, It is not an accident that she is often in the sunlight surrounded by fresh smelling sheets snapping in the breeze, I create that. The reason is simple, When I am painting that painting I am there for that time and I crave beauty and serenity and accomplishment and she symbolizes that for me. She started as a symbolic, idealistic version of me by accident. I did not even realize it was me but those of you who knew me long enough to remember me as a brunette who wore my hair this way for so long may see the tiniest bit of where she came from but she has long since stopped being me and is her own person. I will freely tell you I start to draw her without much idea where she will go, and this time it was here.  She is who I paint when I am relaxing and thinking of what to paint and many times I think these end up being my best works. No giving myself pressure, ever, when I paint her.

People ask me all the time about the no faces in my paintings and it is simple, the specific face is not what is interesting to me, it is the fact that it represents all people or capturing one with a few simple strokes of the paint. THAT is fun, but worrying with all the features when my interest in is the scene is just irrelevant to me.  When anyone sees paintings of my kids that I've done they are stunned to find that I can paint a face because I guess it seems like I can't when it is just a choice.