DEAR COUSIN, IBD

Sinopsis

The Dear Cousin, portrait project was born from three things: the love of family, the love of art, and a deep need to belong.áLetâÇÖs start with art. IâÇÖve successfully completed one art class in 1991 at Western Michigan University and attended one figure drawing group at Crooked Tree Arts Counsil in Traverse City. I love art and feel a great connection to our grandmother through her love of art. I love talking about art, looking at art, and all the inspiration it offers. Prior to 2022, I had never painted a portrait. IâÇÖve created portraits with fabric panels and loved the process but wanted to use oils when creating the cousin portraits. Most of the portraits were created in one sitting and took approximately four hours to create. The exception, my sister Eileen, took me five times to create and is the only portrait with two figures. I guess I needed to hug her in perpetuity.áIn my heart, I hope this collection inspires you to start your own art journey. I promised myself I would not correct the mistakes I made (especially in the beginning with color, value, etc.). This was done as a reminder to me that itâÇÖs okay to make mistakes. ItâÇÖs okay to be a beginner and accept the process.ááI hope you enjoy seeing the arc from the raw beginnings to a more refined presentation.áThereâÇÖs never too much family, right?ááAnd we are blessed with family. There may be a limit to how well we can relate in a big family. I grew up hundreds of miles from this family. So not only the size of our family, but geography as well, got in the way of knowing my cousins. Not knowing some of my cousins faces and names was very disturbing to me. So disturbing that it compelled me to do this project. 250 hours of painting, eighteen hours of board prep, ten hours of creating and handwriting invitation cards to each cousin (as IâÇÖm not on social media), twenty-two brushes, six boards, one bottle of safflower oil, and one Asaro Head later, IâÇÖm not so disturbed anymore.áWe all need to belong. ItâÇÖs what grounds us, staves off depression, and brings internal peace and joy. ~ Bridget Callaghan