Last night was a wonderful evening with so many friends and new friends coming out for the show, despite the rain. Be sure to visit the Gift Shop for the small nativity paintings and postcards. The red dots on six paintings denote sales! The paintings will be at Sacred Heart Cultural Center in Augusta, GA until December 22.
The Artist Statement from the show, “Back Roads…Back Yards…Back Home” is copied below.
Back Roads —-
I’ve traveled many dirt roads to outdoor adventures with my husband. There is something peaceful about breaking the sound barrier from a paved road to a dirt one. The higher pitched hum of the tires as they swish through sand, accompanied by crickets and frogs and birds singing through open windows, calling us to step back into nature’s more original state, away from today’s rushing society. There is something about the possibility of seeing just around a curve that brings hope. You don’t know what is ahead, but you can always hope. I like the idea of hope in my paintings.
Back Yards —-
I grew up when children could play in the back yard without the supervision of adults or fear or intruders. It was a safe place where our imagination took us to all kinds of fun. Back yards can often be the sanctuaries of beauty needed to encourage us after a day on the job.
Back yards supply southern flowers to give to friends, trees for shade, swings for comfort. In the front yard, one needs to be ready to meet others. In the back yard, one can be alone, unless they host the party.
Back Home —-
I grew up in Georgia, not exactly in the setting you would imagine from my paintings. (I was in a subdivision about a mile from the GSU campus in Statesboro.) Yet, in my adulthood, I have come to appreciate rural settings more than ever. The beauty of landscapes beckon me. The scenes and old houses I am attracted to in my paintings are from my parents’ era. And maybe that is the connection – for “home” conjures good memories and stories of the ones who provided home for me.
I pray my paintings speak peace, hope, beauty and worship of the God who created all. As you view the paintings, look with your own life experiences, let the paintings lead you to realizations about your own journey. You may travel a memorable road back home, and on roads toward the future ahead.