The Land the Sea and the Hoi Polloi

The Gallery of Caribbean Art in Speightstown Barbados has graciously invited us to do another exhibit.

Faithful stalwart of a gallerist, Hazel Ann Mahy Batson has stayed with us through thick and thin, so that now after 20 years we can proudly say that we have shown 10 times in this lovely gallery.

If you love the paintings as much as I do, and want to take one to your home, just click here for

Gallery Of Caribbean Art.  They will make it so easy for you, and they ship world wide. 

Thanks for the love and loyalty all these decades.  Where would we be without you?

So where is Susan now? And what has she been painting.
Getting over the slowness of the pandemic has been hard on all of us. After all, we are not
making bread. And we can’t eat our paintings or wear them.
However if we are talking about the therapy needed get through that difficult time, I think the
artists were the luckiest of all.
Our usual is to be in the studio alone, working, meditating, correcting, and spilling paint. The
difference was that we weren’t getting paid for our efforts, because we couldn’t invite someone
over to see the work. So we didn’t get immediate feed back. We didn’t get that warm feeling
when someone connects with you through your painting.
We made plans, knowing they could be easily thrown out. One show I was organizing had three
dates pushed back. Eventually it was exhibited, but neither the artist nor the curator got to go
and see it. That’s not rewarding.
Surprisingly, we all kept busy. We all had hope in the future. We trusted that the path we follow
will still have some good for us along the way. That’s the thing about artists, we live in a fool’s
paradise. Happily.
This series is name “The land, the sea” and the hoi polloi”. The Hoi Polloi are the everyday
common people. In our case, the sailors, the fishermen, the farmers, the vegetable sellers.
The salt of the earth people who have always taken things in stride. We have Kick em Jenny,
our local undersea volcano rumbling at the moment. No one is panicking. We willl take it as it
comes.When the volcano in St. Vincent blew, we saved the ash to make some multi media art.
This series of work is deceptively simple. You take a glance and you think you know. Its a boat.
But did you realize the wooden boat is almost 100 years old. Built by hand, the hardwood
sourced from local trees. The caulking between the planks has been artfully pounded in by the
builder, who just wouldn’t trust that someone else would do a good enough job. The canvas
sails are recycled over and over, mending the rips, and not easily discarded. The waterline is
painted on by intuition, and when the boat is pulled into the water, the line hits the mark every
time. I can only imagine that the boat builder feels that same sense of satisfaction that we artist
feel when we complete that last stroke on the painting.
Come what may we continue to paint. We like it. Ok, true confession.
We love it.

Hope to see you on Sunday afternoon,

Susan

PS exhibition continues through 30 March.

Feel free to forward invitation

 

You, Me, and Everyone we know -- Quarantine

Since mid March I have been home, sequestered, quarantined, isolated.  Not alone--my husband and three dogs provide enough entertainment.

And red fish.  You know that I have followed themes for many years-- I jump down a rabbit hole and am compelled to chase until it catches me.  

Who knows why these red fish have been my muse of choice for the past inside weeks.  I have had a thought ever since reading 100 Years of Solitude and then later Love in a Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez of a scene he paints with words.  It is a drawing room, in a time of severe heat and humidity.  He envisions red fish swimming in a school through the air. For years I have played with the idea that I should paint that.  

So, here come the fish.  The fish of my dreams.  The fish of my imagination.  The red fish.  I tried to stop, but everything I painted was trash.  So I scraped the surface and painted a fish. 

"One fish, two fish, RED fish, blue fish." Dr. Seuss

We don't really know when this will be over.  WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHEN THIS WILL BE OVER!!!

Until, I continue to paint. 

Red Fish Detail

 

Susan Mains Branded Gift Items

Beautiful hand crafted leather items with Susan's images.  Purse, Wallet, Cosmetic Case, Key Rings, and other cool stuff.  Available at Art and Soul at Spiceland Mall in Grenada, and at True Blue Resort. Perfection in a small package!

Hand crafted leather accessories.