Friday, June 13, 2008

New Portraits











I was in RI the past three days visiting my mother who is in a nursing home for rehab. She broke her hip last week and had to have a hip replacement surgery. My siblings and I are taking turns spending time with Mom while she recuperates. She also has Alzheimer's and forgets why she's in the nursing home. This is all so wearying for her but she is rallying. It's very hard to see parents get sick or old and frail. This has been an emotional week. One of my coping strategies is to draw. Here are 2 portraits I started while at the nursing home - one of my Mom, and one of my sister, Amy. It was a good way to pass the time there. The staff was very excited to see some art happening in their midst! Now that I'm home again, I plan to use these photos as a reference to complete the drawings.
Mom with Rhododendrons from Debby's Yard, 2008
watercolor, pastel and charcoal on Rives BFK, 22" x 30"
Amy, 2008
pastel and charcoal on Rives BFK, 22" x 30"

8 comments:

Susan Beauchemin said...

Geeze, I'm sitting here not knowing what to write! It's good to see Mom's smiling face. Nice portraits!--I'll email you with my other thoughts

artslice said...

Your family sounds so close-knit! Nice drawings, especially the one of your mom, it reminds me of Alice Neel. Hope she's better soon.

martha miller said...

thanks sue & brenda

yup, we are very close-knit!

:^)

Don Gray said...

Powerful drawings, very moving. My eye jumps from your mother's face to the equally emphasized bouquet of flowers. It makes me think of them as equivalents, which I find touching.

Sorry about your mother's misfortune. Hope she recuperates quickly.

martha miller said...

Hi Don

Yes, it like a double portrait, isn't it?

Thanks for the kind words - it's tough seeing our parents age and die. Not only because we will miss them terribly, but as my brother Kenny said, "We see our own demise."

martha miller said...

I meant to type,
it IS like a double portrait!

Rob S. said...

Your mother seems very vibrant regardless of her situation. Those eyes of hers just sparkle! You captured her vitality so well here.

martha miller said...

she is a trooper!