52×40 inches
Oil on linen
Maple float frame
2024

Sometimes I have a clear sense of my story before I begin a painting, but sometimes it emerges along the way. 

In this painting, I found myself representing the house in a fragmented way and that became part of the narrative. I was feeling the fragility of life — how tenuous safety seemed for all of us, the constant vigilance I felt, even in joyous times. 

The seed of this idea started with a photograph of my daughter on our font porch. I began researching arches and porches and other transitional spaces. In medieval paintings, only holy figures are positioned under archways. I happened upon a relief of a greco-roman athlete leaning on a hoop which reminded me of the pink hula hoops my kids had been playing with.  

I made several compositional studies in an attempt to capture movement and repetition. I was thinking about Lennart Andersons street scenes with bodies colliding.

In this painting I love the contrasts between the seriousness of history and the playfulness of childhood, the chalky past and the vividness of contemporary times.

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