The best paintings have a story and here is my story for this one:
A young friend of mine visited an antique store in Yarmouth and found a box of old photos labeled "relatives 10 cents". The source for my painting "Seven Sisters" was a 2 inch square, faded sepia photo buried deep in that box. My friend just knew I would love that image and I did! The original painting I made from the 2 x 2 photo is 19 by 25 inches and was purchased by an artist friend called John at its first showing at a local art show in 1998. For John, the Seven Sisters spoke to him of the his mother who was one of 7 sisters. John left this and many other painting from his collection to the local library so that they could be appreciated by many. The painting is on display in the Annapolis Royal public library.
Many people ask me who these people are and if they are really sister and of course I have no idea but the personalities came to life for me as I painted them. There are many "7 Sisters"; the constellation, the women's colleges in the US, and mountains and hill tops to many to list here. Because the photo came to me from Yarmouth I made a local connection. (The photo could have been taken any where and I think this is part of its universal appeal.) Yarmouth always had a teaching hospital and to me these young women represented nursing sisters just finishing their training and just starting life's adventures at a time when the world was changing very fast. (I guess it is sometime between the wars by the hats and the skirt lengths and the sturdy walking shoes)
I know the personalities of these women. I know their hair colour, who is shy, which one is boisterous, which one is calm and gentle. No matter who these people actually were, they speak to me of the solidarity of women "Well done, Sister Suffragettes!"
The execution of this painting was one of the moments that painters live for and and experience all too infrequently. Every brush stroke was placed with confidence and with no corrections. The painting was fresh and direct as the image revealed itself.
