16 Watercolor artist | JUNE 2020
CreativityWorkshop
I’ve even fi nished afewpaintings
before realizing the correlationof
what I’d created. Alarmed(page15)
is a painting in this category.Visually,
this work is all aboutalarmclocks,
but technically it’s aboutcellphones
and the intrusive noisewe’recon-
stantly forced to hearinlocations
where they shouldn’tbepermitted.
Th e viewer can imagineallofthese
alarm clocks ringingatthesame
time—and longing forsilenceinstead.2019
It’s been within the pasttwoyears
that the images of timepieceshave
become ever more presentinmypaintings.It’snotonlybecause
I collectthem,butalso,morelikely,
duetomyownthoughtsandconcerns
aboutaging.
Tosomeextent,TimeSlot(above
left)symbolizesmy“retirement”from
illustrationanda totalcommitment
tofineartwatercolors.Eventhough
I hadn’tpuncheda timeclocksince
1973,thetimecardholderisinmy
studio.It’sthere,asaretheclocks,
toremindmetokeepupthepace.
I againusedpocketwatchestoempha-
sizetotheviewertheissueoftime
andhowweallpayhomagetoit.
Tryingtogetanactive5-year-old
toposeisa grandandnoteworthygesture, as I learned in GPS (above
right). Th is portrait of my grand-
daughter was to focus on her and
the maps, due to the fact that she’s
very observant of her surroundings.
I admit that I didn’t plan for the
actual placement of the vintage alarm
clock, but there it appeared, center
stage in the painting. I’m starting to
believe the timepieces are in control,
but in actuality, the clock’s position
was perfect, considering I’d allotted
just a short amount of time to com-
plete the photo session for this
painting before my granddaughter
“timed out.” Notice the white rat?
Th at’s yet another story to be told.RIGHT
GPS (2019; watercolor
on paper, 27¾ x20)BELOW
Time Slot (2019;
watercolor on paper,
28x15¾ )