Behind the Scenes: Woman of Burden

Woman of Burdern, Watercolor and Ink Wash on Watercolor Paper

Now that things have settled down (just a tad! Tomorrow I head for Vermont) I really wanted to share this piece that I finished a month or so ago. The idea for Woman of Burden had been lurking in my mind since August or so when I re-read Beloved by Toni Morrison. Such a powerful image is in those pages, of a woman with a cherry tree growing on her back, that I was inspired to explore that image, though I did not know in what way.

Finally, in the middle of April, some time on my trip, it came to me. Of course, I didn't start work on it until I cam back, but man did I work. This has been one of my quickest pieces to complete, having worked on it for a little over 9 hours, which is proof that the more you do something, the quicker you get.

The tree was both my favorite and least favorite part to work on. I began with the tree trunk and had a lot of fun whittling away with ink washes, but left the top for last. I had a tough time wrestling with the image I had in my head (always sketch things out! Translating entirely from brain to paper in one try is tough!), but in the end, it created itself.

On a side note, I may or may not have prints available of certain pieces in the near future. I place my first print order of a drawing on Monday (when I get back from VT) and hopefully things go well!