The Story Behind the Painting

Do I remind you too much that I grew up in Georgia?  Maybe I don't have to remind you when you hear my accent.  Though I'm a Texan now, Georgia will always be the place that formed me and the place where I grew into who I am today. 

I lived in one town from Kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Statesboro, Georgia, known for the Allman Brothers' Statesboro Blues song, GA Southern University (go Eagles), and a rural countryside of cotton, tobacco, and peanuts, 'The Boro' was home.  While I love painting rural scenes now, I need to admit that I grew up riding my bike around a neighborhood of houses where everyone knew who lived next door. The only way I knew about rural life was the stories my parents told me about their childhoods. 

But there is something that tugs on my heart when I see white cotton fields and tall pine trees.  The sweet breezes are different from prairie winds and the earth has a red tint to it that is not found in the Blackland where I now live.  I recently came home from a quick trip to Georgia with a photo that I had to get on canvas before I lost the momentum. 

I am grateful and privileged to have a group of friends who have known me since I was five, with more friends added in each grade. Students from three elementary schools merged together in middle school and grew closer as we endured and enjoyed the high school years. What kept us in touch with each other? Besides Christmas cards, paths that continued to cross, and Facebook, one person has made it her mission to keep us connected, ever since we started getting mail about Medicare.  Fourteen of these girls gathered recently at Sandhill, the rural farm of Kathy Bradley. What a special time of sharing we had!

This painting makes me think of the roots of my childhood;  the grounded beliefs of many of those friends, the bright spots even on a gray day, the heights to which many have climbed like a tall pine tree reaching for the sky!  And I remember.. my roots in that sandy soil and have the strength to face the tomorrows with a full heart.