I made a video from the photos I took while painting the Mural for the Menifee County Library.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7fSMyE5jCE

http://animoto.com/play/ytoMOpOA858z5xychHWB3Q


Link to video about the day the Wise Women paintings went to the capital.

Wise Woman of the Appalachians: Peelin taters

Wise Woman Generations: Women of the Appalachians

This painting was done to honor Women in the Appalachian, I beginning on a journey of self discovery of my own Appalachian heritage and along the way I am going to honor and cherish as many other strong women of the Appalachians as I can...

The Story below was written by Gwenda Lynn-Huff Johnson, the painting here depicts her Grandma, Mother and sister. It is my understanding that her grandma loved to plant sunflowers, (one of my favorite).
Enjoy the story:

"Appalachian Woman"

She dried our tears and washed our butts but never did she complain. She fed the dogs and the cats and made sure the chicks were warm. She tended the garden and milked the cows but we never heard her fuss. She cooked the meals and washed the dishes and cleaned the floors at dusk. The dirt she swept through a hole in the floor hid with a board of pine. On Saturday she washed the clothes and hung them on the line. The best ones on a cotton cord strung between two posts the old ones she hung on a barbed wire fence just to hold them close. She hoed corn and set out tobacco and climbed to the top of the barn. She loved the children on Stinson Creek and kept them all at times. While old people stole her heart away, family’s what makes her eyes shine. She worked hard beside her man the one that she loved most. Married by the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. She’s an Appalachian Woman Her roots are tied to the hills. She’s strong willed and determined. Her beauty needs no frills.

Wise Woman : Grandma's Cards

Wise Woman Grandma’s cards:

Grandmas are God’s gift to young women, they love us unconditionally. Grandmas have a free hand from the day to day molding that helps us grow; they get to just love us. This artist remembers her Grandma as a feisty little woman who was just less than 5’ tall. She loved marigolds and had them planted all around her home. My Grandma really was no more remarkable than any other Grandma, but to me she was the strongest symbol of proof that I was loved. No matter where I roamed my dearest Grandma would find me a make sure that I got that birthday card every year. God welcomed her home a few years ago and I must say that I truly miss those cards.

Wise Woman Series of Paintings

Wise Woman series of Paintings

This Series is a journey of the Wise Woman, some things depicted here are personal to the artist and some are inspired by other Wise Women that the artist has had the honor to have met and known... The women depicted here are faceless so that they may represent any woman of any age. All Women are the Wise woman.

"I feel like I am on a journey of self discovery along with exploring the nature the of Wise Woman." "I am exploring several different aspects including strong Appalachian Women and their historical significance in our region. I want to honor them through my contemporary images in paint while exploring and learning about my own heritage."

“The Wise Woman is the leading lady in her own life story on a journey that begins at her birth and continues through her lifetime. As she travels on her particular path, she will undoubtedly encounter suffering; feel loneliness, vulnerability, and uncertainty; and know limitations. She also may find meaning, develop character, experience love and grace, and learn wisdom.”

Goddesses in Everywoman

Powerful Archetypes in Women’s

Lives

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

From the seed grows a root, then a sprout; from the sprout, the

seedling leaves; from the leaves, the stem; around the stem, the

branches; at the top, the flower…. We cannot say that the seed causes

the growth, nor that the soil does. We can say that the potentialities

for growth lie within the seed, in mysterious life forces, which, when

properly fostered, take on certain forms.

M. C. Richards, Centering in

Pottery, Poetry and the Person

Just a few more little tweaks and this Mural will be called done....I am very very pleased with the way it has turned out....

Okay the the holiday rush is over and the work load has slacked off, so now I can devote more time in completing the mural..
What I have here is panel three and four, I have them based and most of the back ground elements added in. I am working on the vignette of Caroline Ingram and her dogs, they coming along nicely, what you see here is them based in as there will be lots more detail to come. "Note to self when doing large projects! make sure to mix enough of the largest color used."
Panel four features Twin Knobs in the back ground and will look forward to having more wildlife coming into the scene.