Old House

Touchstone: From Hannah's Room

acrylic and oil on canvas, 44 1/8” x 48 1/16”, 2003

Touchstone: From the Sleeping Porch #2

acrylic and oil on canvas, 30” x 40”, 2004 (Collection of Fidelity Investments)

Touchstone: Glimpses of Noon #2

acrylic and oil on canvas, 30” x 51 7/8”, 2004 (Collection of the Art Complex Museum)

From the Sleeping Porch #22

waterbased monotype, chine collé on paper, 19 1/2” x 30”, 2004

Touchstone: From the Plant Room

acrylic and oil on canvas, 42 1/8” x 20 1/4”, 2004

From the Sleeping Porch #14

waterbased monotype on paper, 19 3/8” x 30”, 2004

Touchstone: A Glimpse of Noon

acrylic and oil on canvas, 26” x 40”, 2004 (Private Collection)

Touchstone: Invitation

acrylic and oil on canvas, 42 1/8” x 20 1/2”, 2005 (Private Collection)

Touchstone: Between Thoughts

acrylic and oil on canvas, 48” x 96” (2 panels), 2005

Touchstone: Between Thoughts (Detail)

acrylic and oil on canvas, 48” x 96” (2 panels), 2005

Moment of Reflection #2

ink, conte crayon, acrylic ink on paper, 22 3/8” x 21 1/4”, 2007

Moment of Reflection #4

ink, conte crayon, acrylic ink on paper, 22 3/8” x 22 3/8”, 2007

This body of work explores aspects of an old family house in its setting of trees, water, and sky. This summer house, acquired in 1916, saw many generations. Of most interest is the sleeping porch, seen from inside, outside, and underneath. The old hospital beds and the simplicity of the room take one back to the early 20th century. The angles of windows, furniture, and structure draw you out into the organic landscape beyond. Sometimes I thought of the trees as stand-ins for people from the past. And sometimes the house and the adjacent trees seemed to be one organism. There is a communion of the house with its surroundings. In the work I explored the incompleteness of memory and the transience of time, as we prepared to let the house go.

Working with water-based monotypes and monoprints were new media to me in this series. Using transparent layers and building on unexpected effects led to prints that look different from my previous work. I found that what I was discovering in printmaking influenced making the paintings. In addition, allowing parts of earlier stages in the paintings to remain in the completed canvas let different ways of depicting an image coexist in the same artwork.