Visual and Verbal Connections: A Composer across Modes
Aunt Carol was always interested in her artistic technique, and she often used the handwritten text to describe and explain the choices she made in the painting on the front of the card. She would also, on occasion, adapt her paintings to her audience, as reflected by her written text. In the birthday card from 1998, she writes, “PS Hope you like my latest horse.” This shows both her awareness of audience (me, a horse lover) as well as some insight into her artistic practices. It's clear that she has tried different horse figures and has recently tried painting a new version.
In 1999, she sent me a landscape, a painting of "Mt. Hood." But, I can imagine as a young teen who was fascinated by horses that I was likely disappointed by the landscape, despite how lovely it was. I have no recollection of talking to her about the landscape and asking for another horse painting, but it seems that must have happened. Most likely, I saw Aunt Carol around the winter holiday and expressed my preference for her horse paintings.
In 2000, she wrote, “As I promised last time, I made you a little horse.” She would have remembered my request when she sent me a birthday card the following August.
The next year, in 2001, she references the horse on the front but also describes some changes in her painting technique that have altered the effect of the painting. In short, at least early in her work, she was very conscious of the images she was creating, her audience, and the way her words would connect the two.
