While cleaning in my studio this past week, I came upon a triptych tucked in a corner that played a big role in kicking off my expedition into the arts. The woman who painted it is unknown to me - she signed the piece with a rune/symbol not unlike Prince - but what she created, the space she worked in and how she brought a painting to life, has stayed with me to this day.
In the spring of 1971, my mother decided to commission portraits of her children by an artist in the neighboring town of East Bridgewater. So off we went one chilly spring day to sit for her. I was 14, Pam was turning 13 and Mark was 9. The idea was to have us each sit for a half hour at a time while the other two entertained themselves and stayed out of trouble. A bold plan, especially in the space we found ourselves - a cramped and cluttered shed next to the back door of an old farmhouse in the woods. It was heated by wood too, so staying out of the artist’s way, comfortable, and safely away from the pot-bellied stove was a challenge. We each balanced on a tall stool for our individual poses and, when “on deck” I found myself completely transfixed by this artist’s dance with her craft. I probably expected her to draw an outline and “color it in” with paint - blue for my sister’s eyes, brown for my groovy fringed vest, etc. What I witnessed instead was what later became so familiar - deep observation, not of the objects themselves, but of form and color, light and shape. And it was magic….and I wanted to learn how to do it.
When the sessions were over and the transaction completed, the three portraits came home and were hung on our den wall for a short time, as I recall. I don’t think they were well-received by my parents, being a bit too contemporary for their tastes, and they sat in a closet until I rediscovered them while in art school. Since then, they have traveled with me. Each time I see them, they immediately recall the smell of linseed oil, turpentine, wood smoke and earth - smells that forever mean STUDIO to me.
Postscript - If anyone out there has any information about the identity of this artist, I would be very grateful to hear it. As I said, she was living in East Bridgewater, MA (very close to Robbins Pond) in 1971. I think she was about 30 or so. Thanks.
Randy, 1971, oil on linen - Artist Unknown