Grandma’s House

Grandma’s House

This painting entitled “Grandma’s House” came about as a result of feelings of hopelessness and despair as I wondered if I would ever achieve my dream of having my own home.

My art business Art de Joulie had just begun, and I was trying to find my way regarding what to do and how to move forward.

I was getting anxious and panicked.

Starting a business at this stage of my life, not really having the qualities of a risk taker and knowing that I would have to sustain it financially for as long as necessary, just compounded the feeling that I could say goodbye to home ownership! Well, at that moment, that is how I felt!

Out of frustration, I said, “well, since I don’t know if I will ever have my home I might as well paint one!” I was sitting at my work table and began to Google search old houses. My brain became overloaded, and I felt overwhelmed, so I just closed my eyes for a moment to gather my thoughts.

Suddenly, the negative feelings left, and I opened my eyes, and intuitively I began to draw and paint. I love old houses especially the simple wooden ones. I imagine the stories that they have to tell each unique to their existence!

I think that they also reminded me of my childhood when I spent a lot of time with my grandma on my father’s side.

Ahhh, the “good ole days.”

As I painted, I was smiling as memories of my grandma and the times we shared filled my mind.

I was remembering things like her sitting on a chair by the back door of the house and holding a huge bowl so that I could cream the butter and sugar for the cake. I did this using a wooden spoon, not a mixer! Ummm yes, of course, I had many tastings to see if it was creamy! Lol! So yummy! I miss my granny!

The colourful house in this painting represents for me warmth happiness, enjoyment of life, celebration and festivity. Of course, I loveee nature so I painted in the vegetation and it would not be complete without flowers.

The many Sunday drives to the countryside would reveal these beautiful little homes among the rich vegetation and always brightly coloured flowers so much a part of our Caribbean aesthetic. I guess while I painted subconsciously all these memories merged and voila!

After painting and feeling so much better emotionally (art does that, I do recommend it) I decided to send a picture and the title of the painting to my Whatsapp contacts.

Well, I would never have guessed that doing so would evoke such a response!

Friends began to share their memories that came to mind when they saw the painting and requests began to come in! I never expected that bouts of frustration would lead to this!

Funny huh? You never know…

I began to create more paintings and the series “Nostalgia” emerged. 

What have you done in bouts of frustration and what positive things have you gained from it? I’d love to know, and we can learn and discover from each other.

Thank you for reading and allowing me to share this experience with you. I always believe that Art should make you happy.