The Mary House (Notre Dame Academy)

ABOUT THE HUNT COLLECTION It is true that inspiration comes constantly and unexpectedly, but there are ideas that inspire me which are longer lasting than than a momentary joy in the color of a shadow. The mainstays of inspiration I’ve found throughout my life have come from literature like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, C. S Lewis, and Francis Thompson, and the land of Hunt Country, Virginia.  The aspect of this literature that continually intrigues me is their ability to articulate experiences and how we remember them- and how that effects our future. Ernest Hemingway wrote about America while he resided in Paris. Similarly, I painted the Hunt Collection after I had lived there; away from it and remembering it. The idea is that you’re able to articulate something more accurately when you’re outside of it.  This concept is layered into my work and my practice. I found I was living out this concept particularly through this collection. I felt as though I loved the area more for being away from it. This Virginian land is a gracious land. I love how the road gallops along the edges of the fields – every so often arched by gracious boughs of leaves—creating momentary shelter before bursting out into the sunshine of the wide open fields.These memories and this land are precious building blocks for my future and how I see the world around me- where ever life will take me. ABOUT THE PAINTING As you drove up to my high school, the sun on the columns was the first view of the day ahead. I loved the way the light hit the Mary House, and often thought about drawing them. I finally did. It’s one of my favorite pieces in the collection for it’s dramatic light on the facade and reflected in the windows and its southern crape myrtle trees . DIMENSIONS 16” x 20”