I know a lot of you followed my portrait WIP of (Denistof) both here and in the Wet Canvas watercolour studio during November/December last year.
When I had finished, Denis asked me if he could comission me to paint a portrait of his wife Meg. I felt honoured to be asked.
I never had the pleasure of meeting Meg but whilst I have been working on this commission I feel I have got to know her at least a little. Denis very kindly wrote about Meg to help me get a feel for her character so I could better convey it in my painting. I worked from four or five different photos to get the information I needed and the rest is my interpretation of what Denis wrote and told me about Meg.
Denis has given me permission to share his writing and the painting with you. Thankyou Denis. Here is some of what he wrote:
“Meg was fair in her dealings and feelings towards others, generous with her time and love. She has a wry sense of humour and loved to laugh. Her favourite colours were green yellow and white. She loved the outdoors. Her abiding passion was her garden. She happily spent hours weeding and carefully transplanting her seedlings. She cut the lawn with a push mower until we could afford a riding mower. She loved that and would zoom around with a huge grin as she waved the dogs out of the way. The occasional ‘meeting’ with one of the trees would send her into gales of laughter. I could spend a delightful hour just watching her as she was completely absorbed in her garden. I took drinks and snacks out to her and those minutes together are amongst my happiest memories.”
So here is a close up of Meg in her garden. Maybe she has just ‘bumped’ into the tree on her mower or maybe she has just spotted Denis coming towards her with a cool drink and a snack.
Ona