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Where Are They Now?
Over the past 3 months, while so many people were getting on planes and travelling the world, I settled here in my home surrounded by my pets, family, friends, art and books. I enjoyed the mere satisfaction of organizing my studio. I added a new bookshelf and rearranged the furniture. I’ve been organizing boxes of photos. Looking back at photos of past paintings, I remember the stories they have to tell. I have created a lot of art. Some of it was really good and some paintings were extremely bad. Some paintings I had forgotten about until I saw the photos. I wonder where they are in the world now? Where did they end up? They have taken on a life of their own. I recall how sometimes it felt like my paintings were choosing their owners instead of the other way around. Their stories of where they wound up are sometimes unusual and obscure. As an artist, I was never quite sure where my paintings would go. And now, I am finding that they are going on journeys and finding new places. My paintings are out in the world while I stay stationary here in this house.
A few years ago, I received an email from a woman who came across one of my paintings at the Re-use Center at the local dump. I recognized the painting immediately and I remembered the client who had purchased not one but two paintings at my “Here I Am” exhibition in 2002. That was a long time ago and I concluded that perhaps the client and her husband had passed on and the family did not realize the origin of the paintings. Sure enough a few days later, the second painting arrived at the dump and yes, the grandchildren were cleaning out the house. The woman who found the paintings at the dump recognized my work immediately and she was thrilled to now own two Caprice originals! I borrowed one of the paintings. I wanted to just be near it for a short while as it reminded me of who I was when I painted it two decades ago. While my technical style has improved over the years, it was nice to remember how to be looser and freer (and younger!). While it is extremely rare for original art to wind up at the dump, these paintings found their way into a new home and are now being appreciated by someone who truly loves them. I wonder what journeys my other paintings have taken?
I am currently working on my latest commission. I wonder where it will be two decades from now? That is the thing with original art. It lasts. In one way or another. And after all these years of creating art I am grateful to still be painting. And now, I have this opportunity to write the myriad of stories that these paintings have to tell. So many stories. As I look at all these past paintings, like a song that takes you back to the past, each painting I have done takes me back to a moment in my past. Looking at these paintings is like looking at my life history. I can’t wait to tell you more about it.
If you own an original Caprice painting, please drop me a note. I would love to hear from you and know where my past paintings are currently residing. Won’t this be fun?
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