Want the change, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in, Sharon Kingston 2012
A few weeks back my children and I took a field trip to Port Townsend to deliver some paintings to a new gallery there. Prior to leaving town, I posted on Facebook one of the paintings that was being ferried over: Dare to Become the Wind. Unsuspecting of the weather that day, we found ourselves having quite the turbulent ride. And with that wind came the most amazing sky. I had my son snap a quick shot with my iPhone while we were rounding a curve near the Coopeville ferry landing. I couldn’t wait for the next day’s studio session to layer in what I saw and felt that day. You can see some of the crimson underpainting in the upper right hand corner that I’ve been ever so careful to retain. The actual photo had a house in the center area, but if felt too Dorothy’s not in Kansas anymoreish…so I simplified that space. I love the energy, the nuances of color and the breaking through of light. To me the poem and the sentiment of this painting are not about being blown about in the wind, but wanting to become the wind–a sensation I saw on my son’s face as he stood on the deck that day for the entire ride across to Port Townsend, while the rest of us eyed the life preserver stations.