Every so often, you fall into something so wonderful, so incredible that it makes your palms sweaty & your heart sing. This is one of those rare moments.
I was asked to create a painting on, what I consider, a fantastic relic of a find.
The piece below is a salvaged hatch from a ship that wrecked off the coast of Wilmington, NC. How long ago, this only adds to the mystery of this amazing piece of wood. And not only that, but where it was found is close to my heart. I knew I had something very special to work with, and really wanted to make it come alive, adding to it's beauty.
The wood had so much character and I knew I had to leave some of it exposed, as well as the beat up, but in tack hardware that adorned this hatch.
The first application of paint is the hardest for me. It means there is no turning back...and also screams, "What if I mess this thing up!!" But something came over me, a courage, and I painted with no hesitation or fear. For me, this was a tremendous breakthrough.
Since this was a salvaged piece off a ship, I felt it fitting to paint a sailboat. I love how this one seems to stand suspended, alone, leaving it to be the focal point.
The family's last name who I did this for started with a W, so after some research, I found out the meanings of nautical flags that ships would raise. I went to a boatyard and got a piece of canvas to create replicas of a few certain ones. The one of the left stands for the letter W, and the two others, when raised together, means "We are going on". I felt these combined together had meaning for this delightful & strong family.
I prayed about a name and the word Intrepid came to mind. Not knowing it's meaning, I looked it up and in part, it means "undaunted" and "fearless". This too, played into the whole theme of the piece. The essence of the word Intrepid, was something that was birthed in my being as I painted. This name was not only meant to be the title, but was also for me, as I conquered some fears with my art.
I was honored to be asked to paint something for this family, and also on this amazing piece of history. This is really where my heart is at...to take old, sometimes discarded pieces or found beauties, and add to their character.
This piece was one that gave me the most joy to work on thus far.
