Brave the Rain

  

This is one of the first paintings I did in my current child-like style. I painted it in March 2006, along with 4 other pieces, for the annual Kidney Kaper benefit for the National Kidney Foundation. It’s still one of my favorite pieces I’ve done, it’s very raw and although I think that in a lot of ways my paintings now are better, there’s something I love about the primitive nature and innocence of this one. I was journeying into a part of me I hadn’t seen in quite some time, and I hardly knew what I was doing. But this piece in particular holds a very special place in the history of my life as an artist. And perhaps I will go deeper into the “why” sometime in the future.

I had been asked to donate some paintings to the Kaper (a very fancy, black-tie event … not the place you’d expect to see my art) and for some reason when I started thinking about what to create, I kept picturing that this was going to possibly raise money for kidney patients, and that those patients might be children, and what does the world look like through the eyes of a child with kidney disease. Or any disease? Or for that matter, what does the world look like through a child’s eyes, PERIOD? I don’t know why exactly I went in the direction of something that would appeal to a child, but I did. And I’m glad I did. When Michelle saw it for the first time, she was floored and told me “You’ve done it now.” And apparently those black-tie folks weren’t turned off by my five paintings that seemed VERY out of place, because I sold three of them that night.

But this one didn’t sell. Apparently it had other plans. I am extremely honored and excited that it’s been chosen for inclusion with the Works with Words exhibit at the Nashville Downtown Public Library. You know, I don’t even know for sure if that’s “prestigious” or not, but I’ve seen the gallery and it’s beautiful. And the show, as the name implies, is about art incorporating words in some way. Which is a huge part of what I’m about.

So the show opens this Saturday, March 15th. There will be an opening reception from 2-4pm. Conveniently the EXACT same time as our baby shower, so I won’t be able to make it to the opening. But the show will remain up until the end of June, I think, so if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and check it out!