Granny Magic

My Maternal Grandmother, Cora Lee Whitfield, was a major part of my life. My brother and I called her Mawmaw. All her grandchildren were important to her, but she and I had a special bond. I was asthmatic as a child and she'd help my Mom take care of me.  She knew just how to hold me so I could breathe a bit easier and made soft French fries for me to eat.  I have a distinct memory of the rocking chair creaking as she rocked me as a young child.   She was praying as we rocked, talking with her ancestors.

I have picture of her as a beautiful 19-year old with long dark hair in my living room.  When my daughter was an infant she woke up crying.  I took her to the living room and I was rocking her in a rocking chair.  She continued to be fussy, but stopped.  I looked down at her and she was leaning back a little, staring at the picture of my grandmother. I firmly believe Mawmaw was soothing my daughter.  Her spirit was alive in that photo.

My wife's grandmother was an artist.  I never got to meet her as she passed away in 1985.  When my wife and I got married I was given her old easel and one of her old stretched canvases that had been stored. I put away the canvas for the right idea, but set to work using that easel since it was taller than the one I was using. Some of my better paintings were done on her easel.

This past weekend I had an idea for a painting so I decided to use her old canvas. I thought the time and the subject were right.   This canvas is 24 X 20 and close to 50 years old.  It was hand stretched, used tacks instead of staples and looks to have been gesso'd with what looks like a palette knife. The back had been aged yellow and had a few water stains.   Lets say it's got some personality.

I set to work using a style I'm not quite used to.  My normal work is small, technical and precise.  Here I used jabs and smears of color using my hands, an older brush, and even paint slung from a brush handle for a splatter effect.  The central subject was a Great Blue Heron, a bird as always, but it was done quick with less thought, more feel. Before I knew it I was done.  I kinda thought Alex's Grandmother might've guided me or at least helped me shut out my monkey mind to let it happen. 

Yep, Granny Magic.