A Few of My Favorite Things

I began this painting in 2016 pre-PhD and just after my daughter moved away to college at a young age. Once I began the PhD program, I put the painting aside. I was inspired to work on this painting again after a conversation with a dear friend and artist about the rich and meaningful visual imagery of her screenplay and film, Domestic Bliss, as well as shedding expectations of society. I painted this from life - it includes a seashell I have cherished since I was a child, a smaller seashell found on one of the many walks on the beach with my daughter, a locket with photos of my grandmother and great-grandmother, a novel that belonged to my grandfather and also happened to be from the Pratt Institute library where I went to graduate school, and a children’s book about butterflies. I recently added the marble background - a cutting board my daughter used daily for cooking while she was at home with us during the COVID pandemic. It is a contemporary, personal iconography - each of the elements tells a story about different aspects of my life and also holds meaning and connection to others in my life and the story of their life.

‘A Few of My Favorite Things’

oil on wood 14 x 11 inches 2021