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Tribute to Max | ||
At a “Paint Out” two years ago I was sitting under a tree painting a lovely farm. When I was nearly finished I noticed two figures emerge from the distant house and I quickly added them to my painting as they walked in their garden. A few months later I learned with sadness that the gentleman had unexpectedly passed away. His wife approached me about painting the coreopsis flowers along their driveway. She told me that the bright flowers and pine seedlings they had planted brought them much happiness. She and her family also decided they would like to put his tractor in the painting. As I began to work I couldn’t help but feel that having an empty tractor in the painting would bring sadness, so I secretly called the family members with the idea of painting Max on the tractor as a surprise for his wife. They were thrilled and sent me photos to use. Having only met him once it was a risky venture, but to my delight when I unveiled the painting the family all exclaimed “it’s him!” |  |
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Juniper Springs Run | ||
This is a commissioned oil painting (24” x 36”) of Juniper Springs Run in the Ocala National Forest. We took a kayak through the narrow waterways to this beautiful spot where we took pictures from which I worked back in the studio. It would have been fun to have painted right there on location, but I do not know how I would have gotten my paints and this size canvas through the narrow channels, let alone a dry place to set everything up. | ||
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A Time Quickly Passing | ||
European visitors to Namibia commissioned me to do 40cm x 50cm paintings closely resembling the small watercolors which are published in my book "A Moment in Time". This is a 40cm x 50cm oil painting depicting a San family in northern Namibia showing how the family still retains some of their unique cultural traditions while adapting to the quickly changing lifestyles and implements around them. One of the projects I am currently working on is a collection of paintings of southern Africa to be shown at the Florida Museum of Natural History in November 2007. | ||
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Commissions are often requested of me for paintings of special places or subjects. I have painted different types of scenery on the walls and ceiling of a room in a Pennsylvania farmhouse; an abstract array of colors in a room of an Ohio house; wall designs of ornamental elements that pick up highlights of fabrics or styles; wild decoration on an African taxi; outdoor murals around an arts center in Africa; and even a mural on the side of a cottage in Tybee Island, Georgia. | ||
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Cottage of the Octopus Lair | ||
This was a fun project, despite record heat that week in Tybee Island, Georgia. Onlookers kept coming back to view the progress, and at one point a television crew from Savannah arrived with their truck and cameras, asking if they could interview me and film the project for the evening news! As I have a habit of walking backwards to get some distance from my work to check its progress, we had to arrange an elaborate set of ropes to keep me from plunging off the second storey scaffolding! | ||
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Requesting a Commission Would you like to have a special painting created for yourself or as a gift for someone important to you? If so, please contact me several months in advance to discuss what you have in mind. I prefer to paint on location whenever possible. However, I can work from your personal photographs. Once I know your needs, I will be able to give you a price (with a non-refundable deposit), and also discuss completion and delivery details with you. You will receive progress updates during the painting process. "If you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life." | ||
©2010 Mary Jane Volkmann - All Rights Reserved |
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