Primary Colors, 2005
Oil on linen, 2' x 2'
July 16, 2004, This July weekend brought friends to our little piece of paradise in southern Maryland to enjoy Fred's good cooking and good conversation around the pool. It was also one of those perfect moments I hoped to capture forever and reminds me of my process in creating these works. The meals were rich in color, vibrant and lush and calling out to be documented permanently. My connection to vivid colors can be traced to my early childhood. I vividly remember seeing Dick and Jane painting their chairs bright colors in a grade school primer. That image has remained with me throughout my life and very much informed my approach to color. I once mentioned it to my mother, who was a second grade school teacher, and she surprised me by locating the primer. I was shocked that the colors in the pictures were not nearly as vivid as they were in my memory. Today, many of the decisions in my paintings, including color, are made during the preparation of the meal, so that color choice may be driven by the food, a season or a particular holiday. I often think I am in the middle of a performance art piece, gathering colors from our garden, selecting dinnerware from a growing inventory and pulling out table linens from the closet where they are arranged in a way that makes you feel you are in the middle of a color wheel. Although color choices are made during the event, as I become absorbed in the painting itself they may vary, but they will certainly refer back to the original colors selected. Sandra Bloodworth
Oil on linen, 2' x 2'
July 16, 2004, This July weekend brought friends to our little piece of paradise in southern Maryland to enjoy Fred's good cooking and good conversation around the pool. It was also one of those perfect moments I hoped to capture forever and reminds me of my process in creating these works. The meals were rich in color, vibrant and lush and calling out to be documented permanently. My connection to vivid colors can be traced to my early childhood. I vividly remember seeing Dick and Jane painting their chairs bright colors in a grade school primer. That image has remained with me throughout my life and very much informed my approach to color. I once mentioned it to my mother, who was a second grade school teacher, and she surprised me by locating the primer. I was shocked that the colors in the pictures were not nearly as vivid as they were in my memory. Today, many of the decisions in my paintings, including color, are made during the preparation of the meal, so that color choice may be driven by the food, a season or a particular holiday. I often think I am in the middle of a performance art piece, gathering colors from our garden, selecting dinnerware from a growing inventory and pulling out table linens from the closet where they are arranged in a way that makes you feel you are in the middle of a color wheel. Although color choices are made during the event, as I become absorbed in the painting itself they may vary, but they will certainly refer back to the original colors selected. Sandra Bloodworth