I love to paint! Watercolour was my first medium and I return to this love affair repeatedly over my painting career. My favourite subject for watercolour paintings has always been people . . . Not the people you notice, but those you pass by, character studies . . . People who are in the margins of our lives, there but not seen. These are the people i bring to life for the viewer. In taking the time to look at these paintings, the viewer is taking the time to stop and to see people through my eyes, caught in that moment.
The beauty of simple tasks, doing laundry, sitting for a haircut, peeling garlic is presented like a gift to the viewer. Combining detailed drawings with subtle, complex and often brilliant colours creates beautiful paintings done with multiple layers of glazed pigments.
I strive to provide the viewer with a place to stop in the moment of this time and be present. To take a breath and recognize our commonality with these people who we might otherwise pass by.
“A Perfect Peeler of Garlic” – While waiting for lunch at a family-owned café in the East Side of Vancouver, I noticed in the back of the room a distinguished gentleman, sharply dressed and focused on his task of peeling garlic. I imagined him to be the patriarch. I was struck by his attention to his task and his calmness. He seemed to take pride in his work, as humble a job as it was; he seemed happy. I left with a smile, excited to have caught this moment.
“I’ll see you on the other side” (top) is one of the most complicated watercolorus I have painted. It is of my dad, his last outing for a haircut. I finished it on Father’s Day, two months after he left us, and it was wonderful to spend the day with him in my heart. “Adagio” (bottom right) is a study of a violin player in a large group on stage at a folk festival. Standing to the side, eyes closed, graceful movements, lovely music. I am thrilled to have witnessed and captured his beauty. “Of this time, of that place” (bottom left) is the first painting I did that I thought was good. . . it created a stir in me that I could actually be an artist.
Words | Sandy Kay
