She Started Painting.

After all this talk, all the videos, all the blog entries, all the behind-the-scenes action, I doubted that the painting of Even Me would come to fruition. However, out of the six panels sitting, waiting in anticipation for the soft touch of a filbert paintbrush to gently stroke its surface, two of the panels met their destination. Let me explain:

Using yellow ochre for the base coat, I roughly sketched out the first Even Me face: Glory. She was one of my fireball students. She’s four years old (maybe five now). She wears red Mary Janes. And she is trouble.

I don’t have a specific order in which I’m painting the children. I want to say the order is random, but it’s hard to think anything can be completely random: our minds are very complex, and I believe everything has a pattern. 

Something must have influenced me to choose Glory as the pioneer. Thus, I’ve come up with a theory; I chose Glory’s face based on one thing: inspiration. While looking through my reference photographs, hers stood out to me. Her teeth are barely showing (no painter wants to start with teeth), the lighting is absolutely perfect, her face is tilted at just the right angle, and the most inspiring: although she was one of the youngest children, she is the boldest. Her boldness has infected me. She has inspired me.

Essentially, each face is a story of inspiration. Each child has experienced abandonment, loneliness, neglect, some starvation, others pneumonia. Now, they are all living, learning, growing, rising, and becoming. Their stories have and will continue to transform me. I will continue to capture their resistance to dark and perseverance to light. 

Back to surface talk: oils take time to dry. Instead of hopelessly blowing on wet paint, I set Glory aside and started panel number two: John. He is the oldest boy. He’s a leader. And his teeth are definitely showing. I’ve obviously gained confidence in the past day to start with teeth. But who wouldn’t gain confidence? I have two beautifully rough-looking, 4 x 4 ft paintings in my apartment, and I am more than pleased; I am ecstatic! I am genuinely thankful to my backers for supporting me because I have the funds to do exactly what I was made for.