Before I share each piece, I wanted to give a little bit of backstory to the series.
I grew up in Augusta, Georgia- a large-ish city with a very small town feel that was built along the Savannah River. I went to festivals on its banks, took my senior portraits with it’s water at my back, and heard one of my first “I love you’s” while overlooking it. I grew up playing in it, bathing in it, and (thanks to it being Augusta’s water source) drinking it. And even though I no longer live in Augusta, the river is still a part of me, which I think it true for anyone who grows up around a body of nature- whether it’s a river, an ocean, or a mountain. It becomes a part of you and a part of your story. Although inanimate, it almost becomes personified in how it’s spoken of and how much of a role it plays in your history.
That idea- that this body of water had SUCH an impact on who I am today- ultimately inspired my entire BAPTISM Series. I started really reflecting on how different bodies of water shaped me- how my memories are interwoven with them and just how different of a person I would have been had I never had those experiences.
Tomorrow, BAPTISM goes live. Nine paintings inspired by nine bodies of water will get published, and accompanying each of them will be a story. Some are detailed, some are not. Some are long, others are short and sweet. I cannot 100% swear to that I correctly recalled brand names or dates or even exact locations- these stories are memories of course and memories fragment and blur with time- but I can swear to the emotions and feelings behind each story. Those are 100% true.
Thank you for allowing me to share my work with you, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.