Julie Bean and Professor Robert Barrett, Visual Arts
Through consulting with Brother Dick Ogden at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City, a plan was developed to aid the orphans of Minsk, Belarus. The atmosphere and housing conditions of the Minsk orphanage are grayed by years of neglect. It was concluded that several paintings would greatly improve the atmosphere and enjoyment for the children of the orphanage.
Feeling that it was important to paint the pictures in a way that the children would get the most pleasure and benefit from, I decided to include realistic figures of children dressed in their native Russian costume. Great effort and time was spent researching Russian clothing, headdress, shoes, wraps, and authentic patterning. Authentic patterning, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, were taken from many different sources, i.e. clothing, dishes, vases, fabrics, and toys. Knowing that very little space would be available for text, I decided that nursery rhymes would best fit the purpose.
In choosing the nursery rhymes, many old and new books were searched thoroughly before selecting the final five rhymes. The artists through history have portrayed each rhyme in their own style and medium. Collecting samples of these added new data in composition, style, color, line, and technique.
Child models were enlisted to pose for each of the intended five pictures. The rhymes I selected to paint can be seen in Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6. The fifth nursery rhyme painting is still in production.
As I began drawing these beautiful children dressed in native Russian costume, I felt uneasy and my mind would go blank as to the progression of each piece. Struggling and praying about this for months, I finally counseled with my spouse. Knowing that he knows me better than I know myself, he gave me insight into my dilemma. The answer was that it was not coming from my heart. What I had produced was very good, but was wrong. The Lord wanted me to go in a different direction. So back to the basics I went. I sat down with pencil in hand and each idea began to flow freely onto the paper. Instead of months of struggle, suddenly they all came together in just a few days.
Experimenting with mediums in the past has given me an edge in completing the paintings on time. Instead of tracing the large pictures onto canvas as I had originally planned, I used a blueprint copier to copy my large original drawings, which saved many hours of tracing. Next I cut masonite to size, applied a coat of Gel Medium onto the surface, laid the copy in position on the Gel Medium, smoothing out air bubbles, then applied another coat of Gel Medium on top. When dry, acrylic paint was applied in bright delightful colors. These colors were specifically selected for each painting by what emotions or effect the color would have on the children as they viewed each painting. The blues and greens have calming—soothing effects, to calm the spirit. Whereas the yellows, oranges, and reds energize the mind, moving the eye from place to place while exploring the added detail around the edges.
By adapting to new ideas and guidance from my mentor, the art pieces progressed from a realistic stylized Russian flavor to fun—whimsical paintings of classical nursery rhymes. Each having its own story to tell, pulling children in by the many details that invite them to dream and think beyond the gray environment they have so long endured.
