If you've been following the blog you'll know I've recently started working on canvas. I wanted to do this to work on some personal stories that have been living in my head for years but until now, I wasn't able to communicate them in the way I wanted to.
Until now. Here is a finished work - the first I hope of more in this vein: the title of this piece is:
'When did you find out you were adopted? (you're shittin' me -right?)'
I was born in NZ and adopted in 1966 at 10 days old into a white family with 9 children. My parents took me at an age when they should have been looking forward to an empty nest and in the days before there were support groups and help books. All my life I have been asked by people where I'm from or how old I was when I found out I was adopted. My reaction to these questions has mellowed over the years - from anger/frustration, to telling the full story within minutes and jokes about family resemblance.
This is an attempt to convey this with humour but also the love: the obviously different race mother and child, the chinoiserie, full moon and flying fish in the garden - nothing is quite what it seems.
The title: well, it jarrs a little bit with the image but that is also the intention - something so detailed, and painted with care - given a fairly crude, but what I hope is a humorous title.
And here is the progress of the work. It probably took a month - 6 weeks all up:
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