Sweetness

When I was a little girl, Miss Dortha gave me a giant coloring book, probably as a Christmas gift. It was filled with the outlines of young ladies in elaborate dresses. There was a lot of detail to color in, and for a while I was content. But to my recollection, I never finished even one of the pages in the coloring book. There was just too much detail, and I wasn't satisfied to color with a solid where a flower pattern was indicated.

Fast forward to today. There just isn't a lot of precise detail in my paintings. Instead of painting what I know is there, I paint what I see. So even if I know that something is physically there, if I can't see it, it doesn't get included in the painting. Also, I tend to leave out excessive patterns. My brain can't handle pattern overload.

An instance of painting what I see, and leaving out detail is evident in one of my newer paintings, Young Girl with Fan. Intellectually, I know that this young girl has blond hair. But when the sun light was shining in her hair, it looked like golden honey. And maybe her eyes aren't exactly that shade in real life, but the look in her eyes is just as sweet and true. What I really like, though, is the precious smile, most likely caused by the fact that she was the undivided center of attention of two teenage young ladies. How sweet and wonderful life is when we are priviledged enough to see true delight in the eyes of a child.