A Woman at Work

Young Love

Pauline

This painting is called Pauline. She is my Grandmother, whom I dearly love. Though she is not doing well right now, I remember her healthy and happy, and this scene helps me preserve her memory in the way I saw her. She loved nature and riding her bike, and she had this hair... Her hair was so long it would touch the floor. In the painting I used her hair to show her lifeline, starting with her baby hair with a ribbon. As it reaches across the canvas, her hair ages to the present time, a beautiful grey and white under a hat she often wears. If you look closely you can see there are some shells on the ground. One of my happiest moments with my grandmother is the long walk we would take. Along our walks I would pick up seashells, keep them in a cup, and bring them home to wash and clean. I also added some other things that most people would not know about her. My Grandma Pauline had a beautiful garden, with many different fruits and vegetables, yet the thing I remember most were her fig trees. I remember eating the figs right off the tree. I also wanted these trees to show her posterity, as a tree illustrates the family tree. The three trees represent her three children, but there is one tree that you can only see half of. This is symbolic of my aunt Linda, who lost half of her life to cancer. As Grandma rides away, she leaves the pains and pleasures of a wonderful life behind her. This is my story of my Grandmother. The music was composed by Joseph Haggard, and written specifically for this art piece. It is inspired by grandmothers who dedicate their time and love to their grandchildren.