Artist's Statement
Journey, the memories, the dreams and the reflections along the road one travels, has been a constant theme in my painting. I sometimes see reality as a series of dreams, of encounters, of momentary, fleeting, fragile yet often beautiful experiences. Italy, where I spent ten years and where we still return yearly, has been and continues to be a strong source of inspiration. Memories of people and of the Italian landscape with its extraordinary light have influenced my painting.
[click image to enlarge]The road one travels, roads, streets, strada, strade, the journeys we take and the paths we travel. September 2000 found our family in Rome, living in Trastevere, one of Rome’s oldest and most characteristic sections. My husband, Robert Proctor, Professor of Italian, had brought 20 Connecticut College students on a SATA (Study-Away-Teach-Away Program) to study at John Cabot University located in Trastevere. Rebecca our daughter and Andrew, our son studied at the American Overseas School in Rome. We had a small apartment in the heart of Trastevere, a block from Santa Maria in Trastevere, perhaps the site of the first Christian church. That year, morning after morning, a family ritual developed. Shortly after 7:00 a.m., the four of us would walk down the worn stairs of our dwelling stepping out of an old wooden front door onto those ancient semi-darkened cobblestone streets. We headed slowly down the meandering maze of streets toward the Ponte Sisto, a 15th century footbridge which crosses the Tiber. From the center one can view Michelangelo’s dome of St. Peters. Rebecca and Andrew were on their way to catch the school bus and Bob and I would walk along stopping for cappuccino and a newspaper before going on to our work.
[click image to enlarge]Early mornings I would study those dark narrow timeless cobblestone streets, cobbestone pavements where generations of humanity had walked. The buildings themselves were presences in subtle shades of rich browns which varied in value and texture. The facades of the ancient apartments which had witnessed so much life were etched by time. Cool blue and lavender shadows played on the streets giving way to glowing shafts of Mediterranean light. Shapes of brilliant blue Roman sky were carved by the tiled roofs. The blues were striking, juxtaposed against the ochres, umbers, and occasional touches of reds, pinks, and oranges. Morning after morning we walked treading along as had so many many others down those timeless semi-darkened streets toward the pinks, toward the reds, toward the blues, toward the light.
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