Painting Tomatoes

 

 

These were painted by Alicia Cohen who wanted to honor her father, an avid gardener who grew delicious tomatoes. Painting was her way of dealing with her dad's illness and a way of staying connected to him as his health declined.  

I asked Alicia about what she remembered about the first time you picked up the paint brush after 20 years?This is her answer:

"When I first picked up a brush after twenty years I was both nervous and excited. I had always wanted to paint but never made the time because I was afraid I wouldn't be any good. I had signed up for a drawing class first where I got some experience and a bit of confidence before I even bought a set of oil paints. 

I became frustrated initially because I could not get the paint to do what I wanted it to. As I learned to use the medium my confidence grew. There were times periodically where I became frustrated but I soon began to realized that this generally occurred when I was about to make some progress and/or I was thinking about my life rather than focusing on my art. 

 

 

I soon began to improve and found I was most successful when I was in my zone-far removed from the rest of my life-my father's illness, my kids, the divorce I was going through and anything else troubling at the time. 

Most nights all of those problems and thoughts would go away when I popped in a CD and picked up my brush. Sometimes hours would pass and I would be surprised at how late it was. On other occasions I would be working on several canvases and feeling truly inspired only to find out that only an hour or two had passed.

 I would feel completely recharged after a class or painting on my own. My painting was an escape while at the same time a way for me to release my feelings about my father, his illness, and subsequently his death. I saw my photography and my paintings (especially the tomato and flower series) as a way to honor my father and feel closer to him.

Alicia is involved in art through photography now and spends most of her time working with her all natural sugar free cookie company, www.Katecookiejar.com.