My Backyard, Watercolor on paper, 12 x 16, 2019
The Cincinnati Art Museum’s March Evenings for Educators program celebrated women artists and in particular, the iconic Georgia O’Keeffe. Samantha Gaier, Assistant Director of School-based Learning, presented Georgia’s story after earning and being awarded a grant to study, research and visit the artist’s homes and museum. Samantha explained that when she was a child she first saw a flower painting by O’Keeffe and immediately knew that she loved the artist’s work. She explained how Georgia insisted that people refer to her as an artist and not a female artist. In addition to being an incredible artist and wife of Alfred Stieglitz, she was an educator, cook and gardener. For twenty years she lived half the year in New York and the other half in New Mexico and only after Alfred passed away, she permanently moved to New Mexico. Despite being from a poor Wisconsin family, Georgia studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University, University of Virginia and the Arts Students League of New York. She first explored New Mexico in 1917 and ultimately found where she belonged. She stopped persevering to be a realistic painter and found her voice in abstraction. Nature inspired her work but she didn’t wish to copy it. Georgia used charcoal, pastel and watercolor to create her landscapes, large flowers and still life compositions. Alfred suggested she use oil paint in order to compete with the male artists of the time. In Georgia’s later years, her eyesight started to fail so she turned to sculpture and ceramics but never stopped creating. Samantha asked the question,” Why is Georgia O’Keeffe so fascinating?” She explained how Georgia learned how to drive so she could drive herself out to the desert and paint in her car. She also hiked and traveled by herself. She was always curious and took care of herself by wearing comfortable clothing and as an introvert, she escaped the busy, loud city and headed to the beautiful retreat of Ghost Ranch and her home and studio in Abiquiu. Georgia O’Keeffe was a contemporary artist who broke through barriers just by being who she was supposed to be, herself.
My Artist Statement
The places you live and explore definitely impact you. For me that meant growing up in rural Ohio and spending time outdoors playing, reading and daydreaming. I also remember sitting outside and drawing every detail of a daylily in my father’s garden. I loved to look at the flowers and sit on a moss carpet beneath the trees. Those lazy days of summer greatly impacted who I am as a person and as an artist. Now I live in an old suburb of Cincinnati, close to restaurants and interesting places but especially forested parks and old tree lined streets. This is home. Young deer, rabbits, birds and all kinds of wildlife find refuge and good eats in my yard. I enjoy planting and caring for our flowerbeds . Once in a while it is thrilling to explore other cities and national parks but I also look forward to coming home. I’ve found that once visiting a place that inspires me, I feel connected to it and want to share it with others. The hundreds of photographs that I take of nature both at home and abroad become references for my artwork. I find inspiration, rejuvenation and curiosity amongst the trees, looking at the details of flowers and leaves and the vastness of the sky. My paintings and drawings are all about trying to capture the essence, mystery and beauty of my subject and working with my media.
I don’t think it was until college that I really remember seeing and being mesmerized by Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings. Her abstract landscape and flower still life paintings in particular greatly inspired me and I easily felt a connection to her work. After listening to Samantha’s presentation and understanding myself better as an artist and a human being at this stage in my life, I now understand why I more deeply connect with Georgia O’Keefe. While I think I would have been completely intimidated by her, I also admire who she was and what she contributed to the art world of the past as well as the present. She is an icon.
Especially over the past couple of years, I’ve learned that caring for myself is important so that I actually have more to give my students, friends and family. I’m naturally an introvert and need time alone in nature to rejuvenate, rest and find inspiration. For me this happens as often as possible during walks along the tree lined neighborhood streets, in parks and reflecting in my backyard. Like Georgia, I am an educator, artist, find inspiration and connection to landscape as well as minute details in the little things such as flowers and leaves. I’m also an introvert who values time to myself but also finds close friendship to be a treasure.
I often paint places I’ve visited but also take hundreds of photos of my own backyard. As I’ve tried numerous times to capture the essence of the place I call home, I’ve wondered why it is so challenging and often frustrating. Perhaps it is because it is such a deep part of me and who I am. The part that I wish to share with others but also protect it as a refuge where I can just be myself and breathe. Perhaps I’m also afraid to share the real “backyard” because it is a work in progress like me. Nevertheless, after learning more about Georgia O’Keeffe, I had to take the plunge and try to achieve my vision of my refuge. I used a photograph from August at twilight. Summer evenings are my favorite time to sit outside on the patio and watch the sun go down as a bunny or two hop about and I hear the birds and katydids. I love looking at the two tall evergreen trees that reach up so high but stay rooted deep into the ground and the deepening colors of green, blue and violet everywhere I look. To me this is a magical time that I savor and wish to share. Did I achieve this in my painting? Is this the beginning of a series or obsession?
“The way you see nature depends on whatever has influenced your way of seeing.”
Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe, you have definitely influenced my way of seeing and living life fully and meaningfully.