This is the original painting in the terrarium series, measuring 32” x 38”. The simple vessel was inspired by the Better Homes and Gardens article noted in the How it Began post. I use a lot of photos in the creation of my work, but not with the intention of recreating them exactly. At some point in the process, I put the photo away and work with the image on the canvas. I have learned that if you tried to recreate photos, your images turn out flat and uninteresting. So, for this piece I used the photo of my young friend, Olivia…
You will see some of her siblings showing up in the Terrarium series. Her sister, Sophia, is the figure in Contained and I have plans for paintings with her brother, Gianni and sister, Isabella. They are a fun group of kids, and since I have none of my own, I will be turning to friends and family for my models in this series.
Most of my paintings start with a rough sketch on the canvas. I water down some paints and quickly block in the shapes.
My original concept for this painting had the terrarium placed on a table, surrounded by hungry lizards. I thought it might look like an alchemist’s laboratory (a theme I am quite fond of), but I quickly decided the idea was not working.
Once I dropped the laboratory idea, it seemed obvious that the vessel should reside outside in a unpleasant environment, contrasted to the utopia inside. At this point I am still loosely blocking in colors and shapes. My layers are thin, which allows for a lot of change, if needed.
I didn’t have an exact idea of what the exterior terrain should look like, but it needed to be unsettling. My thoughts returned to a recent plane ride in which I had viewed these amazing, dense cloud structures and thought they might work in the piece.
Ugh, but they were boring. I was getting frustrated and uncertain whether this piece was actually going to work. I think it was Mark, my husband, that presented the question “Do they have to look real?” that really got the piece rolling. I scrapped the realistic clouds and started layering waves similar to the ones I painted in Suspension of D in 2006.
With the background somewhat realized, I could go back to developing the image inside the terrarium by building the plantlife around the figure.
I wanted the environment to be really lush and colorful, while incorporating different shapes and textures.
Hanging out with Swanky in the studio. You can see my bulletin board with reference photos in the background.
Ah, rocks… My obsession with rocks can be quite a time consuming pain in the butt. I began by blocking in each one (the lighter area on the bottom).
In this detail shot from the original “finished” piece, you can see the object the girl is holding, a mustard seed pendant. I have several of these pendants, passed down to me from various relatives and recently learned that they symbolize “faith”. From Wikipedia, “In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. Although having some of the smallest seeds, the mustard plant grows to a large size, providing shelter for birds: Mark 4:31-32. The story has been interpreted to mean that grand things can grow from tiny actions.” I am not a religious person, but the metaphor was perfect. As with many of my paintings, the narratives tend to develop and find meaning as I work on them. When I started this piece, I wanted it to be a commentary on the environment, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that would be. Then one day a coworker mentioned that she was not worried about the environment because scientists would figure out how to fix it, so what was the point. I was pretty shocked by that statement, but instantly knew what the girl was going to present to the viewer and what the title would be.
I had posted the painting as finished, but after exhibiting it a few times and then living with the painting for a few, I decided it really wasn’t finished. First of all, the vessel had structural issues on the top and bottom. I knew when I started this piece that it would be a challenge because of the straight edges and ellipses. I have always been better with fluid, organic shapes, but I enjoyed the challenge. The next element was to tackle was the rocks again. Even though I had spent a LOT of time refining them, they were still too rough to be in the foreground and the monotonous color distracted from their details and the rest of the piece. I also realized at this point that I needed to really push all-over patterns.
View the finished piece Blind Faith
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