Secret Keepers

I'm very drawn to items and articles that imply a history. These bags and boxes more than fit that bill. They are all containers that were found in my in-laws' house after the passing of my father-in-law. They each held memories in one form or another; photos, greeting cards, children's drawings, baby clothes & toys, pressed flowers, certificates, letters, and even some rock-hard candies from a Christmas long past. The sifting process released a roller-coaster of emotion - what to keep and what to discard? Were these things kept deliberately, or were they simply stashed and forgotten? How do you discard a greeting card from soldier to girfriend all those years ago? The process itself is a journey back in time. I knew I wanted to paint these pieces and tried many different configurations before I decided on the one that I found especially pleasing. In the end I even cropped that image as I felt that it contained enough information to tell the story. Acrylic, 12 x 24 inches.