Aiguille du Midi

To create Art for the purpose of invoking the inner self; this is why I paint, this is why I paint landscapes, and this is certainly why I paint from photographs. When life happens in front of us and we photograph it, we materialize our love for that moment in time. We can take the photograph further, immortalize the image, and use it to build our home. My most recent treasure is an oversized depiction of the view from the top of the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix, France. This painting, especially at this point in my life, is a shrine. It hangs on a wall in a room off the kitchen that is part office, part play room, and part after-hours dumping ground. It is not the most prestigious room in the house but it is where we all spend a lot of time. The Aiguille du Midi shares it’s home with an array of other adornments, but it stands out as an illusory excursion full of appreciation and encouragement for me. It is also in a good spot to engage children (or the occasional adult) in a conversation about winter sports, travel, the mountains, or art making. Beer tastes good here too.

This is the original photograph. It’s my (12,600 ft high) bird’s eye view of the French Alps. I took the photo during our stay in Chamonix in 2014, just prior to our guided (5 hour) decent of the Mer de Glace. For me, this day was one of the highlights of our European snowboarding escapades. So much has happened to me, and the world, since then the photograph now seems like an image of The Land Before Time.

Here is a rare glimpse of the good-times-motivated-girl-turned-mother-of-three in her professional habitat. It’s a dark, unfinished basement, but there’s plenty of room to get cozy, get messy, and get creative while the kids are sleeping. In this photo you can see the original picture, my sketch, and the painting as I work. (You can also see my gigantic overalls I scored for free in Enterprise, Alabama from a friend in my old art group.)

If you know me, it’s no surprise that this is how the painting began. If you don’t know me you might wonder if I was colorblind. My paintings have an energy and imperceptible strength that comes from this initial layer of paint that is far from the finishing layer. Without its energetic base, the Aiguille du Midi would be just another peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Here is the work of art in partial completion. It’s a great image of the initial, and the final. You can see how far I’ve come in the translation, but you can imagine how far I still had to go.

And finally, we rest our spirits. The journey continues, but the pause is appreciated. Thanks for the time you spent here. Stay well.