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MEDIUM: Watercolor on paper
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SIZE: 22" x 30"
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STATUS: For sale $1200
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PRINTS: Giclee prints are available (contact Judy)
"I love to browse estate sales and at one I was attracted to a handmade Raggety Ann doll in perfect condition. It had likely been made with love for a special child, and had only delicate signs of use. I purchased the doll, gave her clothes some laundering, and decided to pose her in different arrangements as references for a future painting. I set her in a basket, on a log pile, in an old pierced tin basket and in an aged copper container. I tried various light sources, indoors and out. The mixed hues of the copper vessel and the way the doll sat inside inspired me to paint that arrangement in watercolors. I liked the way her yarn hair cast shadows on the white fabric of her face as well as the folds in her clothing - all of which would create interest in the painting."
I chose a full sheet of watercolor paper, held vertically. From the standpoint of my techniques, I painted the background first, wetting the paper before applying a mixture of the transparent colors I chose as my palette for this painting. Tilting the surface while the paint was wet allowed the colors to blend randomly and softly - a good contrast to the details I knew I wouldn't be able to resist painting. The copper pot also lended itself to wet-in-wet blending of colors, as did the face shadows. I simplified the white cloth under the copper, ignoring the tatted lace edge in my original arrangement, so the emphasis would be on the doll's face. I thought of simplifying the gingham fabric of her dress, but it was so fun to paint the stripes and it helped define the soft folds so I went with it. But the most fun was painting the little features of her face - giving her a new life!
I took the title for this painting from the Fleetwood Mac song "Landslide," imagining that this doll was left behind as the little girl grew up."
