I am a slow painter. Even slower when events of the world overtake me as happened in 2016. The gift (and curse) of a curious mind has revealed to me the purpose of this creative downtime - if it's not one thing it's your mother. This year, my darling mother passed from this world after way too many long months of illness. 

This past week has been my most productive in a very long time. The result, I finally saw what my painting, Carolina Julep was supposed to be and more importantly what my muse (the idea) wants of me. Borrowing from great songwriter, #JimmyWebb, "A song always knows what it is supposed to be", a painting always knows what it is supposed to be. and it nags until the painter makes it so. Carolinas Julep (below) was a four canvas grid piece from a series I was doing last year thinking the subject was "The South". It was an abstract piece (below) and it held its own on the wall for months, until my mother passed and it didn't anymore. So it nagged until I took it back to the easel and started working one panel at a time, starting with the lower left. See what became of it.

 

 

Carolina Julep from The South Series Oil on canvas: 4 24X20 canvases: total 48X40