Coming to Life

I always start with black and white.

In the classical painting world, a black and white underpainting is called a ‘grisaille’. I don’t know why, but I do like using fancy words.

Once the grisaille is finished, I then cover the whole thing with a transparent layer of red. This is the first of many, many thin color layers. It’s also the most exciting layer.

Adding the red layer is like watching an old black and white film become colorized. It’s like watching a drawing become animation. It’s like watching something come to life!

There are so many parallels between art and life. There are times when life feels black and white, and then something happens that makes everything red and vibrant. For me, that’s art. Art makes me come to life.

I Was Influenced By: Peggy Mory

I loved growing up in a small town.

We knew the cashiers at the grocery store. We knew the pharmacist. Postal workers were a steady fixtures and local pastors and florists acted as anchors. Landmarks.

As a child, one of my favorite local businesses was the Mory’s office and art supply shop. It was full of potential. All the ingredients needed for creating.

But the best thing about this store was Mr. Mory. She was kind. She was approachable. She has time for a little girl who loved art.

I have two memories of her that were influential in shaping my young, just-forming view of how artists treat people.

My older sister has always been a go-getter. At some point in elementary school, she decided to organize a yard sale to support muscular dystrophy. I made artwork to sell. But no art vendor can sell her work without displaying it well, so off we went to see Mrs. Mory. She helped me come up with a grand plan- to decorate a box! It was such a big deal to my little self. I loved that box, that art, and that moment learning from Mrs. Mory.

I don’t know what came first, the yard sale or Halloween, but my other memory fell on America’s most artistic day of the year- October 31st. Believe what you want about that controversial day, but no other day highlights our love for creating more than Halloween! Again, off we went to see Mrs. Mory for some state of the art face paint. I was a cowgirl. And I was impressed. How could someone transform a face so easily? I mean, she gave me lashes, and freckles, and all the necessary ingredients to be the cutest cowgirl on the coast.

Looking back, what were enormous moments for little me, were probably no big deal to a busy artist going about her day. But, I am so thankful for her example. From her I learned what artists should look like. They should make time for moments, big and small. They should be approachable. They should be relatable and available. And, their small acts of kindness make big impressions.