Fragments. Figures. These images are a reflection on stone, skin, water and light. The fleeting glimpse caught in time, revealed.

I love working from the figure, whether live model or statue. I love how universal the body is, how images of the human form resonate intimately with each one of us, the way a hit song or a favorite food are such personal but shared passions. When working from statues I try to go one layer backwards, to paint the models that were posing, to enter the emotion and meaning of what the body was expressing. I want the pictures to feel like that body was feeling.

Whether I am working quickly, or for months on a single tiny drawing, I try to have the images emerge from the paper with information that is just the right amount, almost there, or suggested, allowing for imagination, for breath, for relief. I want them to be like the impression you have when you have seen something that grabs you for just a moment, that you want to see again.

The space to breathe has always been for me the white of the paper, which weaves in and out of the brushstrokes like a path. Painting with watercolor is a bit like dancing with a partner: you have to dip and turn as things flow and dry – sometimes you are together, sometimes not – it is always an adventure. Making the brown paper sing has been a fascinating new challenge. I want the drawings to look like they have just happened – poof! – as if white chalk has barely grazed the surface before flitting off again, like pollen.

And figs? Figs have been in season here in Rome, a gift from my poet neighbor, a celebration of life and irresistibility  

Wendy Artin
October 2019