"Mary Gail at 16"
This piece
took five years to create...after two interpretations that were
not Mary Gail. This painting began one day when I picked up the
right photo of my mother, my father's favorite. I just saw what
had been sitting under my nose for five years. This piece is
a portrait of my mother, Mary Gail Cather Fraula. It was the
beginning of the figurative work and the first use of objects
within the painting. This is a piece of great importance to me.
This painting allowed me to show/share the gift of love from
my mother to me. It celebrates her spirit and beauty, which was
a tremendous shift for me from the raw emotions left from the
pain of losing her, and her suffering from Alzhimer's disease.
Mom's drape from her high school photo turned into pearlescent wings - the background is patterned and full of life and messages. Simple symbols, a few rhinestones and beads to celebrate her beauty and spirit, and her goofy love of pelicans. She was the definition of beauty to me.