Inspirations and Thanks

I just finished a painting on Friday.

Communion

This painting actually came from a photograph I took last year at the church's Tom Thumb Wedding. Little children dress up and go through a mock wedding ceremony, where they pledge to be friends forever. Everyone that saw the photograph smiled. I liked it enough to want to do more with it, so it became a painting. I changed much of the background, substituting the church's linoleum floor for a hardwood one and the cement walls for dry-wall painted blue. I almost named the painting "American Girl" because of the red, white, and blue.

I had nearly finished this painting last year in August. After the school year started, I knew I wouldn't have time to work on a painting again until November or so, after I had, as I always put it, established my rhythm. I'm usually doing school work seven days a week until that happened. In late October, I had issues with my gall bladder, which had to be removed. Then I had a rare complication from surgery, which meant more surgery. Even though I was home, I had barely enough energy to do my lesson plans, let alone paint. I eventually summoned the energy to finish this one though. It only took me a couple of hours, because it was mostly finished. Still, it was an accomplishment.

my home e-mail address

If you wish to comment on this page, or if you wish to contact me, you may reach me at the following e-mail address:

seelosen@comcast.net

Pictures of the Show

"Jasmine in Bloom"

This is the only piece that has not won an award. It's also the only piece that has not yet been entered into a show.
Here is the story of the painting:

Only three weeks ago, I stopped a little girl in the church basement. “What is your name,” I asked her.
“Jasmine,” she said.
“You’re the girl in my newest painting,” I said.
She jumped up and told everyone in the room.
I loved that her name was Jasmine. It evoked strong associations with the flower and its spicy-sweet scent.
I considered calling it “Jasmine’s Joy” because of the religious connotations but also because of the ice-cream truck. Most people have fond memories of that wonderful sound, followed by the indulgence of ice-cream.
Then “Jasmine in Bloom” came to mind, though I felt a little guilty about its closeness to “Imani in Bloom.”
“Jasmine in Bloom” stuck, however, in part because I began to view them as sister pieces—both about the connection between youth and age and also that sense of hope for renewal.

Little Divas

I started "Little Divas" in February but set aside and did not finish until May or June. I took the photograph on the first “Children’s Service” I attended. Children take charge of the service, from making announcements to reading Scripture to singing, as in this picture. Imani, the subject of “Imani in Bloom,” stands to the left.

This painting won an honorable mention in Art Works' July show.

"Sanctuary"

I took the picture that inspired this painting on Easter Sunday. The grandmother of the little girl sought the support of her friend, Ira Hopkins.
This occurred just before Easter services. They sat in my favorite spot and the light was coming in a way that made it impossible for me to resist taking their pictures. I was also drawn to the draping of the girl’s fuchsia sari and her grandmother’s cream-colored dress. Finally, there was something emotionally compelling about the scene, something that suggested sorrow but also solace. That was how I arrived at the name.
The little girl in this photograph is also in the photograph to the left (the girl in the middle), the subject of the painting, “Little Divas.”

This painting won an honorable mention at the Petersburg Regional Art Center's July show.

This painting was also selected to appear on the grounds of the National Cathedral. Here is the information.

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: Seeing Christ through Music and Poetry.
With Tom Troeger, noted preacher, musician, educator and author.

Chapel of Saint Augustine of Hippo
Cathedral College of Washington National Cathedral
Wednesday, November 14th
7:30 pm followed by a reception celebrating the Washington Theological Consortium’s Body of Christ exhibition of works at the College.

Watching Over

This is another painting from the Elizabeth Project. The woman is the grandmother's baby. Behind her, is the great-grandmother--watching over. Sierra, the young mother-to-be, is not seen in this frame. She has since given birth to a beautiful baby girl. This painting won first place in Art Works' May juried show.

"Daddy's Girl"

This painting came from a photograph I took at one of the four parenting classes sponsored by Pilgrim and Commonwealth Parenting. The photograph included a number of other people, but what caught my eye was this father, so actively engaged with his baby girl, and she so engaged with him. This painting won first place in Art Works' August show. This was especially sweet since that was the same month as my one-woman show.

"Covenant"

I first met Angel at the Elizabeth Project. Angel was a "Mary," a young pregnant woman. I find her beautiful, intelligent, and tough. In this picture she looks out at us; in the background, her grandmother, Mrs. Dorothy Hopkins, feeds Caleb, born to Angel in April.

This painting was selected to appear on the grounds of the National Cathedral, in a show entitled "Body of Christ." Here is the information.

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: Seeing Christ through Music and Poetry.
With Tom Troeger, noted preacher, musician, educator and author.

Chapel of Saint Augustine of Hippo
Cathedral College of Washington National Cathedral
Wednesday, November 14th
7:30 pm followed by a reception celebrating the Washington Theological Consortium’s Body of Christ exhibition of works at the College.

"Tired Feet"

I first entered this piece into Art-Works--in March. It got in, but no award. Back then, I had named it "Faith-n-Dreams." Paula Demmert of Art Works told me, "I didn't notice the feet until later." That was when I named it "Tired Feet" and entered it into the Petersburg Regional Art Center's juried show. It won second place.

This was my first completed piece, taken from a photograph I took in December. The sun shone through that window "just so" for about two minutes and I was lucky enough to capture it. It was also lucky that the woman had taken off her shoes. Capturing the sleeping child was not a matter of luck. He slept through the whole service, something I have not seen since.

Big, Happy Family

Yesterday's venture was successful, so I will include another painting and explanation again.

The very lovely Mrs. Harris (to the right) has eight children. They fill at least two pews. In the photograph above, they occupy three.
Not only are the children beautiful, but they are also well-mannered, perhaps the most well-mannered children I have ever seen. The older children, like the young man pictured in the front, help with the younger ones.
The Harris family survived Hurricane Katrina. They now live in Richmond and are members of Pilgrim Baptist Church.
I named this painting “Big, Happy Family” because they appear to be one. I also wanted to express the larger concept of Pilgrim Baptist Church as a big, happy family.

In this painting, I made a number of changes from the photograph, particularly with color, but I also left out one or two figures in the background. Color and patterns really made the difference. The woman in deep pink in the background was actually wearing red--a more orange-red. I lightened it and moved it more toward a violet-red. I really liked the color. I wanted more of it. Mrs. Harris wore beige. That did not work. Something huge was missing. So I put her in a similar color to the woman in the background. Still, it wasn't right. So I looked at the patterns on the boy's shirt--the plaid--and the pattern on the other woman's jacket and decided that the figure of Mrs. Harris also needed a pattern. I love stripes so I gave her white pin-stripes.

It was almost right now, but not quite. The figure behind Mrs. Harris wore a grey-beige suit. To balance the blue of the boy in the front, as well as the woman directly behind him, I dressed her in blue--a kind of green-blue. I subsequently altered a number of other colors in the background, until I achieved the kind of harmony I sought.

I guess it worked because this piece won first place at Art Works--in the April show.

"Full of Grace" and "Imani in Bloom"

Top: "Full of Grace." This is a portrait of Willie Mae Monroe, who was looking fetching on "Family Day" Sunday, an annual event. Ms. Monroe had been ill, so I did not recognize her and sought identification from other members of the church. I had already come up with the name for the painting, in part because I had been so captivated by what I saw. Ms. Monroe looked so pretty and so graceful and Pilgrim Baptist Church is indeed full of grace. Having her name helped in terms of my appreciation, but I stuck with the name that popped into my head that day at the frame shop. This painting, which had a very "folk-art" feel (something that happened, not something I had tried to achieve) won honorable mention at Art Works, July, 2007.

Bottom: "Imani in Bloom." This is a painting of seven-year old Imani, who stoically and beautifully performed a song with two other little "divas" on that "Children's Sunday." Imani seemed like a miniature adult; she wore her name in a "That-Girl" kind of flip style and she stood up tall and lady-like. Then, as services ended, there was a wonderful burst of energy that I first captured on film. I kept looking at that picture. "Pretty in Pink" was the tentative title. As I started painting, however, I began neutralizing the colors around her even more and brightening her pink dress and jacket. Soon I began to see her as a flower. That was when "Imani in Bloom" came to me. When I asked a friend for advice about the name, she said the name "Imani in Bloom" gave her chills. That sealed the deal. The painting won first place at the Petersburg Regional Art Center's March juried show--my first winning entry in this series. As I related this fact to Imani's grandmother, the lovely Yvonne Clarke, she told me that "Imani" was a Swahili word for "Faith." Thus, we have "Faith in Bloom," which was part of what I had been trying to get across in the first place.

The morning after the show

Last night was the night and things went great. Not only was it wonderful to see the works together (except for "Daddy's Girl," which was in the main gallery), but it was also wonderful to have others view them--especially the people from Pilgrim.

Other people's responses also mean a lot.

One thing touched me more than anything else, however. "After you have looked at all these paintings and photographs, you feel like you know all these people." This means that what I feel about them is being conveyed, what I see in them is coming across. It doesn't get any better than that.

I have just included a picture of the winning painting, "Daddy's Girl," but later today I will try to put in pictures of the works in the show as well as pictures from the show.