The symbolism of the tree & water are popular elements on the remembrance canvasses I write…. the tree… the tree of life… a winter tree for when life comes to a close…. roots in earth and branches in air… the body, left behind on earth and the spirit moving on. Water…. cleansing…. A vast ocean with hidden depths…. a river…. flowing… life flows… continuity yet continually changing….
They have different meanings for different people, and never ever look quite the same…. colours, photographs, words & arrangements change, but this combination of creams & browns with blue & silver is without doubt the most popular. They're calming colours… respectful but not sombre… neutral but not dull…. colours that whisper words of comfort. Biblical quotations are always popular & many people find comfort in them, but any words can be used.
There's a gentleness about this one… a tenderness… and it actually took several attempts to ensure that the name was the best shade & size to harmonise with whole piece. That one word took as long to sit comfortably as all the rest put together… from too big, to too small, to too bold, to too pale…. but I couldn't let it go until it was just right for this particular young man. It often feels that they are there with me, nudging me to make small changes because it 'feels' necessary, that at another time may seem ok.
It feels a privilege to create something that can bring some comfort to those suffering a bereavement & it can take a good few emails to get the sense of what to do for a particular person. That conversation is often as much a part of the grieving process for a client as it is for me to decide on what to do…. but very necessary & welcome.
If this is something you may like, I can be contacted at suziscribbles@yahoo.co.uk.
I had quite a challenge to incorporate all the different elements requested in this series of canvasses. It was important to incorporate the skyline of a favourite view visible from a window, so using a photograph, I could tear along the length of the mountain ridge & use it as a template to paint over. My client also loved the blue-black skies & gold lettering seen in earlier work of mine.
Another element required, was a representation of the five trees that a father had planted for his children, and I needed to make each canvas similar but different for each child. This was a touching tribute to their father, and a way for the siblings to share something that honoured his memory.
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Although in reality all the trees had red leaves, I highlighted a different one on each canvas. The layout for the calligraphy was broadly the same, but there is some variation in the line-breaks, and how the trees worked out slightly also affected the placement of text a little. Rather than gold lettering I settled on copper, originally intending to use it for the full poem. However as I highlighted the red tree with a bronze-y red, I realised that it would also pull things together better to use that for the 2nd part of the poem too, especially as the two parts have a different feel to the words.
Following on from that brush stroke that felt so good in the last post, I tried some lettering with a Chinese brush onto Khadi Mulberry. I set off with the "I do not sleep", intending to create a neater sample page with various tools & mediums, but after writing the next small line I was enjoying myself & just carried on writing!
You can see the transparency of the paper from the ruler & sheet of absorbent paper underneath. The lettering is all done with the same brush... varying from laying it on it's side to using the very tip.
On the whole, I can write pretty straight without guide lines, but right at the end I lifted up on the right of the page. I do it so often it's maddening.... especially as I'm aware that I do it & watch for it, yet it still happens unless I mark that last line in. I actually positioned the paper straight underneath to act as a guide line but still.... Thinking about it now, I'm wondering if it happens when I don't move the piece of work up as I work down the page, so rather than viewing straight on, I'm looking at my writing at a slight angle, so I "see" that I'm going straight even when I'm not. *sigh* I've been doing this on & off for years & it's only writing about it now that it seems so obvious... I'll check my writing position next time!
Even so, it is possible to rescue a piece that suffers from a drifting bottom line. Adding some form of decoration to fill the space & balance it out often saves a re-write. The heavy line would have been sufficient, but there were a couple of mistakes I wanted to cover, so added the splash. It was a bit heavy & missed the mistake altogether, so I lifted some of the ink out with tissue... then added a few more watery splashes, lifting some out to echo the look of the first one....
I like the effect... even though some letters aren't legible, the sense of the words is there. It also conveys a sense of the words.... of spirit slipping from one world to another, here but not here...
In the previous 2 & the next pic, the tissue is hung at a window... lovely textures from front & back... floating....
Would anyone like this?
If I had somewhere to hang it, it's one I'd keep... but it does need to hang somewhere. Perhaps pinned to a board or pegged from a string line... or maybe another strip of paper or fabric stitched across the top to give enough strength to attach to a branch or pole of some sort.... or collage it into another piece of work... add a layer of your own creativity.... could look good with a layer of something else floating behind... ??
If you want it just leave a comment....& share what you might do with it. If more than one person puts their hand up, we'll have a draw next week :-)
When I first came across this poem, years ago, it was credited as being an Old Indian Burial Prayer. The words are beautiful, speaking of life continuing in the spirit of nature. I think this may have been one of the first things that nudged me to consciously consider what might happen beyond physical death. The poem is so comforting... uplifting.... it's the one I went to straight away when my Mum died, along with countless others who have chosen it to be read at funeral services!
After I wrote it on a canvas recently, I realised that I had a couple of different versions scribbled in my notebooks, so went online to check the wording. That's when I found that the Burial Prayer is a poem written by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932, in response to a Jewish friend saying that she couldn't return home to shed a tear at her mother's grave, due to the situation developing in Germany. It's hardly surprising that it's chosen so often for a funeral eulogy.
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
Mary Elizabeth Frye
A request for something bright & uplifting inspired these versions, one on paper & one on canvas. The second one works fine as a print... just need to get a card version done now!
The couple who commissioned this canvas, requested another for their father.... something a little more 'traditional' looking.... with poppies please! Poppies were their mum's favourite; luckily I had plenty of photographs I've taken myself to choose from.
I often like to layer gesso onto the canvas first to create some additional
texture in the background, plus it's a great surface to write on.
Something like this doesn't have to be for a memorial...
any photo with any words would make a special, personalised gift at any time, wouldn't it?
I'm getting quite regular requests for a canvas in memory of someone.... this time with a favourite song & an owl photograph because "she always loved owls". We decided on layers of lettering, quite a neutral look, with one main phrase standing out.
I have found that applying a layer of gesso to the canvas is easier to write on, but have only recently discovered that sanding it down a little gives a lovely surface.... I can get much sharper lettering now. For this one I kept adding layers of colour, sanding, more colour... a few lines of the song.... sanding... more lettering... sanding.... colour... lettering etc etc. I love the distressed effect....
I didn't get the photograph til much later, & tho we loved the background,
we didn't feel the photo was quite right with it for where it was to go....
... until I converted to sepia and added the final touches!
It's quite a touching tribute, combining their mother's favourite song
but as always, they eventually told me the way to go...
once i stopped thinking so much and tuned in to who they were for...
the Mom being remembered...
in my mind were the colours of the white shores of Hawaii...
i printed some photos for colour inspiration...
don't you just love how the colours on the print have run & merged together?
They are to form the background for the poem
"Remembering My Mother" by Belinda Stotler...
just trying different ways to emphasise the last verse...
& then doing something totally different!
Actually it combines both ideas & I could see from the roughs where I needed to be.
Even when a death is not unexpected, it can still be incredibly hard for those left behind,
but this poem gave a little comfort through it's words...
Their Mom & Dad used to spend time together in Hawaii...
on 'those white shores across the sea'...
There are many layers of colour & texture in these, giving plenty of depth in the background,
also the blue line of acrylic & the white splashes are raised adding even more...
two canvasses the same, or at least very similar....
one for my customer & one for her sister
Remembering My Mother
by Belinda Stotler
My Mother seems so far away from me,
On that beautiful white shore across the sea.
Yet I remember love’s soft glow upon her face,
And the feel of her touch and tender embrace.
When I am weary from the burdens I’ve borne,
And the path is unclear and I feel so forlorn,
I remember her loving support was always near,
And her advice made the path ahead seem clear.
When I feel there is no one who seems to care,
Or when the heartache seems too hard to bear,
I remember how she always stood by my side,
And would tenderly wipe away the tears I cried.
When there are moments of great joy and pride,
And I wish my Mother was standing at my side,
I remember she saw more than I thought I could be,
And know I owe my triumphs to her belief in me.
When I reminisce about the things she used to say,
And I miss her and think she is so far away,
I remember what she gave lives on through me,
And one day I’ll see her on the shore across the sea.
Sometimes a request comes through that leads to a lovely conversation as we talk about ideas, and often a story emerges that explains why a particular song or poem is special. Stacy enquired about possibly having two canvasses, one as a gift & one for herself with these words...We already knew that the colours were to be along the lines of the "Cloths of Heaven" one
I Went to the Doctor, I Went to the Mountains I Looked to the Children, I Drank from the Fountains There’s More than One Answer to these Questions Pointing Me in a Crooked Line And the Less I seek My Soul for some Definitive The Closer I am to Fine
- Closer to Fine by Indigo Girls
And so... Stacy told me that there was a time in her life when she was feeling very down... about where she was in life, who she was & was afraid of the choices she wanted to make. I think we can all relate to that at some point can't we? Luckily there was a friend called Jack who sat her down, played this song & made her listen to the words, telling her to take them to heart. The song struck a chord & Stacy sat there crying through the whole thing... I always like to listen to the songs that I am writing from, but I hope that you will have a listen to this song, "Closer to Fine" by The Indigo Girls & take in what it's about.
Music video by Indigo Girls performing Closer to Fine
(c) 1989 SONY BMG ENTERTAINMENT
Stacy says,
The song is not only about finding true happiness within yourself but about taking chances and not getting comfortable in your own fears. A month later, Jack unexpectedly died from pancreatic cancer. It just magnified the notion that life is too short. So I am keeping one for myself and giving one the other to his wife... he was a person who gave so much of his time, devoted to so many people... to teach them how to live and find inner peace. He was a husband, father, therapist, a marriage counselor, and someone who really cared.
Are you crying too? I certainly had to dab my eyes... and I felt honoured to be able to do this for her...
This is what I showed Stacy as it neared completion...
just a few finishing touches to add
Both canvasses turned out similar, but not quite the same... it was only when i went to edit the photos that I realised I'd photographed the same canvas twice! Shame, cos it would have been good to show the subtle differences that crept in without me even trying.
The raised gold & silver line down the side really sets it off.
I've blurred the dedication at the bottom for privacy
I'm always intrigued to hear what the recipient thinks... Stacy was teary when they arrived, then she had a lovely visit with Jack's wife who was 'amazed'. I imagine it would have been a healing visit for both of them, cos I'm sure there's a bit of Jack's healing energy in both of these canvasses helping them both be more than fine! I hope so.
"Closer To Fine"
I'm trying to tell you something about my life
Maybe give me insight between black and white
The best thing you've ever done for me
Is to help me take my life less seriously, it's only life after all
Well darkness has a hunger that's insatiable
And lightness has a call that's hard to hear
I wrap my fear around me like a blanket
I sailed my ship of safety till I sank it, I'm crawling on your shore.
I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.
I went to see the doctor of philosophy
With a poster of Rasputin and a beard down to his knee
He never did marry or see a B-grade movie
He graded my performance, he said he could see through me
I spent four years prostrate to the higher mind, got my paper
And I was free.
I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.
I stopped by the bar at 3 a.m.
To seek solace in a bottle or possibly a friend
I woke up with a headache like my head against a board
Twice as cloudy as I'd been the night before
I went in seeking clarity.
I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.
I went to the doctor, I went to the mountains
I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.
We go to the bible, we go through the workout
We read up on revival and we stand up for the lookout
There's more than one answer to these questions
pointing me in a crooked line
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine
The closer I am to fine
The closer I am to fine
Songwriters: RAY, AMY ELIZABETH / SALIERS, EMILY ANN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What sort of gift do you give to someone recently bereaved? Well, it does depend how well you know them, but after hugs, poetry & songs are high on the list. It takes some thought to know or to find those words that are meaningful to a particular person and I think that it is that thought rather than the means of presentation that can be so much appreciated. Obviously presentation is a part of it, and I can help with that bit, but the sentiment... the feeling... the love, that is behind a gift such as this that really makes it special.
R chose words from a version of a traditional folk song that was both meaningful & a favourite. She had an idea of greens, some leaves and a bit of copper & was happy for me to decide what would look best.
What's the Life of a Man?
As I was a walking one morning at ease
A viewing the leaves as they fell from the trees
All in slow motion appearing to be
And those that had withered, they fell from the trees
What's the life of a man anymore than the leaves
A man has his season, so why should we grieve
Though all thru this life, we appear fine and gay
Like the leaves we will wither and soon fade away
If you'd seen the leaves just a few days ago
So beautiful and bright they all seemed to grow
A frost came upon them and withered them all
A storm came upon them and down they did fall
If you look in the churchyard, there you will see
Those that have passed like the leaves from the trees
When age and affliction upon us do fall
Like the leaves we must wither and down we must fall
After a few false starts, I eventually decided on muted shades of green watercolour for the calligraphy... various tones reflecting the changing hues we see in nature... with embossed leaves falling down one side & settling across the bottom. One sycamore leaf was covered with copper... almost like a full stop, marking the end of one man's life here on earth.
I tried another layout too... this time with leaves mainly across the bottom & a few at either side... in this version, 2 of the leaves are enhanced with copper. To me this represents two people... it could be two people who have passed on, or the link between two people, one living, one gone...
The technique I used for the leaves is called 'dry embossing'. Outlines of several different leaf types were drawn on card & cut out with a scalpel... I then used an embossing tool, pressing the paper through from the back of the calligraphy into the cut out shapes. When the paper is turned back over, the leaves are raised, forming a lovely subtle pattern. I love the textures that arose on both pieces...
Embossing is so subtle... minimal... white leaves embossed into white paper.... that seem to shift slightly throughout the day as light plays across the surface.... like i said, subtle.... the translucent tones of the watercolour change almost imperceptibly throughout the lettering.... and the copper leaves catch the light differently as well, so this becomes a living, subtly changing piece of work....
Another request for a memorial canvas came my way... this time from somebody wanting something special for a friend, in memory of her father. I don't suppose either of us had any idea how this would look as we exchanged emails... I never know exactly until I actually do it, even though I may think I have fairly clear ideas... and explaining what I'm really thinking by email is pretty hard, and it takes so long to write & describe, I'm not much better verbally, lol!
(photograph reproduced with permission)
Commissioned work involves a huge element of trust. A client has to trust me to interpret their ideas in a way that they find acceptable... I have to trust that they can accept my interpretation... and trust my own instincts & feelings about what they tell me. At times I have produced something very different from what I know is expected.
However, at some point, the necessary trust was established. K was happy to furnish me with several snippets of information and allow me to "pick and choose what you as the artist think will work." Just the kind of words I like to hear. Plenty of information helps to build a picture... to create a resonance between the person it is for & the work, but put too much in & things would look messy. Also, I'm not an 'illustrator' so any artwork is suggestive rather than literal.
K came up with an extract from "In Her Eyes" by Michelle W Emerson, a poem about the love shared between father & daughter,
'Upon angel wings you soar; your sparkling golden halo glows
Whenever she's with you, it's Heaven in her eyes that shows.
Her eyes hold a song so beautiful you'd think it was Heaven's melody.
It's the music of love's symphony composed by each precious memory.
The love known is the love you've shown from sunset to sunrise.
The depth of your love will forever show in your daughter's eyes.'
together with a biblical extract,
"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
The main colours were sepia tones, to tie in with the photograph, also K suggested earthy would be good. The main 'memory' that we wanted to include was the love of fishing together... right from the start i visualised the blues & browns together, but it took several layers of paint to get the textures & depth of colour how & where I wanted! I also had a strong feeling about adding a silver fish right from the start... in the end it served as an anchor point for the whole thing, pulling it all together!
I have heard that L is over the moon to receive her gift & I felt quite teary myself when i read K's note of thanks... it really was an honour to work on something that means so much to someone...
canvas size ~ 10 x 14 x 1.5 inches (25 x 36 x 3.5 cm)
I looked for an alternative image to use in case L wasn't comfortable with 'her dad's' canvas on show... I really like this statue of an angel & the colours tie in perfectly... looks like i will be doing some more angel-y ideas soon!
I've been looking into these twinkly eyes a fair bit this past couple of weeks & it's just dawned on me that I don't even know his name! That may seem strange, but it hasn't been important until now... I've been more concerned with the 'feel' of this man... his energy. I know him as 'Inghinn's Dad' and he recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge to the Summerlands. Ing wanted a canvas with his photo & a quote from 'Le Petit Prince' by Antoine de Saint Exupery in remembrance of her dad.
To begin with I just couldn't 'get' what I needed to do with this. Inghinn told me her Dad was a farmer who loved nature and she asked for dark green lettering. She would have let me change that if I wanted, but the photo background definitely lent itself to greens.
It took me a while just sitting with the photograph... connecting & feeling the energy. After a little while I had more ideas than enough. I printed the photo onto canvas and frayed the edges for a raggedy effect.... i didn't want any hard lines. The lettering too was a quite loose italic, done with a draftsman's ruling pen.
Wenn du bei Nacht den Himmel anschaust
Wird dir sein, als leuchten alle Sterne
Weil ich auf einem von ihnen wohne
Weil ich auf einem von ihnen lache
(Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
It's from The Little Prince, and roughly translated it means, when you look at the sky at night, it will be as if all the stars shine brightly, because on one of them I'm alive, because on on one them I am laughing.
the canvas size is 10 x 14 inches...
small enough to be personal & large enough to have a visual impact
Once i started, everything came together. By then I had an idea of how it should look.... the format, the colours... and a tree. For some reason I felt that a tree was important, and Ing confirmed that her Dad had trained as a tree surgeon in his youth. How I represented the tree was important too...
The bare branches with just a few leaves suggest the end of autumn, moving into winter... which is how I see the end of our life... more like a change of season, a time of withdrawal, returning to earth, preparing for the next stage of growth. The spirals suggest that continuity too, the cyclical nature of life and ancient connections...
It was one of those jobs that from start to finish felt special, and was an honour to do... I hope that it gives some comfort when you think of your dad, Ing xo
