The tea service set used to sit behind glass in our dining room sideboard. One day I decided to do a painting of it. Nothing special about it other than it looked eloquent and that made it great for a still-life. Mom about had a cow when she found out I had it in my studio for doing a painting. Things did not mean all that much for me back then... Like taking my sister's doll apart for a still-life. Never did get that doll put back together. The things I put into still-lifes were just things. Indian corn was simply an interesting challenge that seemed to sell. Grandma’s tea service was different because Mom told me the importance of it to her.
Grandma Sachen got the tea service as a wedding gift. It was very important to mom, who only used it when special people visited and it was the one thing that us kids were told to keep our hands off, not even to dry it when it was our turn to dry dishes.
Grandma Sachen died before I was born. I had to imagine her from how Mom described her.
Instead of just painting away I found myself taking a bit more care about how I mixed just the perfect colors and putting the paint on with just the right stroke. I imagined a young bride serving tea with the tea pot. I even made tea and drank it from one of the cups. Slowly I began to realize the importance of having a real connection to my subject .
When I teach, I tell people to make a real connection to a subject. That is why I engage in conversations with my models.
