My husband and I have three children: a boy and two girls. When our third child was born, I looked at her in the hospital and thought: “I think I’ve already had this baby before.” Of course, I hadn’t, she just looked so similar to her brother when he was born. I recognized her instantly. As she grew, she changed and took on her own look, but those first moments in the hospital she reminded me so much of a baby I had already given birth to.
I’ve been working on a postcard series for most of the summer. Mostly for the sake of fun and experimentation. Until recently I painted on them without altering the actual card. If the postcard was 3x5”, I left it that size and painted on it like that. The other day I wanted to experiment a little more, so I cut down the postcards to 3” squares, then combined a couple together. Ah, so new! This little twist was so fun, and brought some new energy into this project. I painted these cards at home, then I took them to the studio to mount them on a wood panel.
After getting them all glued on at the studio, I carried this new piece around, admiring it, and then I saw an old painting I made probably five years ago. I looked down in my hands. “I think I’ve already had this baby before!” This new postcard painting I just made shared genetics with a much older watercolor painting. I think this is so interesting. Interesting that I didn’t really think about how I had already made this exact pattern before, and also how it felt so new. Even thought it was old!
I’m not sure if this means if I’m on the right track artistically, or if it just means I left a previous style too soon? I’ve thought a lot about the triangles and what they mean to me. Maybe I’m just not finished with them yet. Who knows. Maybe theses art babies of mine look alike now, but each will have its own identity later. Whatever it means or doesn't mean, I love them both.