Description of Work

Grandma Judy I - 2021 - Oil Paint on Canvas - Not For Sale

Grandma Judy II - 2021 - Oil Paint on Canvas - Not For Sale

Grandma Judy III - 2022 - Oil Paint on Canvas - Not For Sale

Artist's Statement

For the past seven years Grandma Judy, went through Lewy Body Dementia and Melanoma Skin Cancer. She passed August 19, 2021, which was a loss of her physical body. However, when someone has dementia, in passing, they regain who they were and shed the shell of what they have become. Grandma Judy mentored me from the time I was three years old. An artist herself, she taught me crafts, and was the first person to put a paint brush in my hand. My work is based on my relationship with her, the disease that took over her body, and exploring the process of her life.

When the viewer approaches my three paintings, they have that experience of meeting her for the first time, but of the last time I have seen her within my life. The paintings on either side are depictions of her as the illness presents itself. Oil paint is chosen as the medium I paint with since it’s the medium I have found that expresses my concept best and expresses realistic portraiture. This is done by applying varied colors and rendering well within the paintings. My grandmother’s disease affected her memory, and this fact inspired me to use a new technique creating a way to blur the background, symbolic of her memory fading. As I paint, I feel nostalgia, as if she is there with me spiritually. She is letting me understand that her death is not a sob story but understanding the life lesson of living life fully. When one approaches my artwork, I hope one ask themselves about how their loved ones have inspired them. I lost my grandmother a long time ago, but I still think of her often. During my years at BGSU, she’s digressed, though keeping in touch was meaningful to both of us. In 2020, Covid did damage to our togetherness but left me sending letters every month on new projects I’ve finished. As my grandmother was a shell of herself when  little time was left, she said one phrase that I carry with myself wherever I go. That phrase is “be happy.” The phrase is short but powerful, making me realize that life is short, so why wouldn’t you want to live any other way than being happy? When you look at my work of art, also think of your life and how you’re living it, because time goes by fast. Are you living your life happily? I am the artist and person I am today because Grandma Judy is living within me now, has inspired me to live my life happily, and has finally found herself again. I hope she inspired you too.

If you wish to purchase any of these pieces, please contact the gallery director, Jacqueline Nathan (jnathan@bgsu.edu.)