The Nude in the 21st Century |
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Purchase Award I could begin with influences--how the sculptor Una Hanbury, my grandmother, mentor, and hero--seeded lessons in my childhood that continue to blossom. Or I could write of the old icon painter who invited me to create in his studio and gave me his love for tradition, mythology, and the Greek isles. But I'd rather you see it in the strengths of my figures and the hues of my forms. I could write of the intensity of my days--how I cherish nearly every moment, sketching the mood and scene on tattered scraps of paper, café napkins, or in the back of my mind to be later manifested in oils, ceramics or bronze. I could share with you my search for the essence of the figure and how I find that this nucleus evokes the exuberance of movement or the silence of tranquility. I could describe how accentuating the quintessential characteristics of the figure is an exploration into the spirit, strength and vitality of the body. Or how, in rendering these figures, I am drawn deeper into creating and defining my own internal mythology. And then my words would tumble over themselves in my excitement to tell you what I dreamed and discovered and painted. I would love to create a map for you--directions to show the routes of my mind--how thoughts move from female form to Mediterranean landscape to a beautifully pocked and scarred quince. But I am no cartographer and would much rather paint than play with a compass. In truth, I wish you to experience my work unencumbered by my words. What I have created I place before you. | |
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