by Natalya B. Parris

Artwork Description

Fluffy

0.0 x 0.0

"Fluffy”, acrylic on canvas, 11"x14" won Third Place in oil and acrylic other subject category at the Maryland State Fair 2014, 2200 York Rd, Timonium, MD 21093. Image of this artwork (page 61) together with my biography were published in Living Artists of Today: Contemporary Art. vol.1 book http://issuu.com/art_beyond/docs/livingartistoftoday_international_vol1?e=2550060%2F2652574 Image of this artwork was published in Latino Art Museum YEARBOOK 2013; 281 S Thomas St Suite 105, Pomona, CA 91766 “FLUFFY” Story September 25, 2011 I was preparing to teach a “Russian Folk Art” workshop, and I decided to create a painting to show my students that what they will learn about folk art would help them not only to understand and appreciate this kind of art, but also it will teach them how to use this knowledge to create a modern, contemporary artwork. The main subject for this painting I selected as a sheep. It is not only a beloved character in Russian Folk Art, it links to the Orthodox Christianity that has deep roots in Russian history and art. The other reason for this choice was personal. My zodiac sign is Aries, the ram. I made a drawing one night, and when my daughter Victoria woke up in the morning, she found it on the table. She exclaimed, “Mom, it is a sheep. I love it! Please do not sell it. I want to have it!” I replied, “Victoria, it is just a drawing on canvas. You do not know how it will look as a painting. You may not like it.” Victoria looked at me with an enigmatic smile and said with firm, adult voice, “Mom, I will like it. I will love it. I want this painting to be mine. Please promise to do not sell it. Make a pinky swear you will not sell it.” I did and it put a pressure on me, since I had little idea what this painting would look like. At this point, only my thoughts, my feelings about a new painting were on the canvas. After that, Victoria would start every morning by asking a question, “How is Fluffy?” which is what she called this painting. One morning, Victoria kissed her beloved sheep and said to me, “Mom, I don’t want you to paint Fluffy pink or purple. I want a normal, realistic sheep.” I was thinking, “Nothing about my paintings are “normal and realistic”, but the news came as a relief. I was concerned that Victoria would ask to make a sheep with her favorite colors. I even was thinking of how to convince her that it is not such a good idea without hurting the feelings of a very sensitive child. Meanwhile Victoria continued, “Mom what is that, pointing to a tree I just had painted?” I replied, “It’s a tree.” “A tree!” exclaimed Victoria, “Where did you see a tree like that?” “I guess in my imagination”, I said. “Mom, trees do not look like that. It is a corn stalk.” Victoria insisted. I stubbornly repeated, “No, Victoria, it is a tree; an unusual, fantasy tree.” “Ok”, Victoria was making peace, “I will not argue with you about it. For you it is a tree and for me it is a corn stalk.“ Not wanting to disappoint me she added, “A corn tree.” That answer satisfied us both. I was thinking, “It must be a lot of “fun” to create a commissioned work. Are all the customers that “picky”? Obviously, Victoria wanted “her” painting to be perfect and she continued to ask questions,” Mom are planning to paint dots on it? I do not want all the picture to be covered with dots; but I want a lot of dots. I LOVE your dots! When are you going to teach me to paint dotes?” I replied, “When you will have a little bit more patience. To paint dots like that takes a lot of patience.” In the evening Victoria asked, “Mom, are you going to bed?” I said, “No. I will paint Fluffy. I want to finish this painting for your birthday.” “Then you can stay up as long as you want,” exclaimed Victoria. Her usual answer would be, “Mom, you have to go to bed. You need a rest. I will not go to bed if you do not go to bed.” On August 23, 2011, I was working on a computer in a basement of my house, getting ready to teach my art class. Alexander and Victoria were playing on a 1st floor when the house started shaking, the windows started rattling. I (in the basement) felt that the roof of the house would collapse in an earthquake. As we learned later, it was the earthquake registered 5.8 magnitude in the Greater Washington DC area. My kids reacted very quickly. They ran to the basement screaming “Mom, it is EARTHQUAKE!” and the only thing Victoria took with her in a hurry was the painting of “Fluffy.” Holding painting near her heart, Victoria said, “Mom, I have to save Fluffy.” Every morning Victoria checked on Fluffy’s progress. “Mom,” she asked me, “I do not see any changes. What did you paint last night?” I had to explain to her that I added several layers of paint; and although it is hard to see the difference, it took time to do it. Victoria was eager to see visible progress. Finally, I added more dots on the tree that Fluffy is facing. Victoria was excited, “Mom this tree now looks like a Christmas tree!” She continued, “Mom, last night I had a dream about the sheep. He looked almost like this,” pointing at the golden sheep with the grey dots on the painting, “but he was white, like real sheep. You know, real sheep are white.” Ok, I said to myself and this is what I hear when I finally thought that I can breeze and relax and feel that I made a deadline on finishing the painting before Victoria’s birthday. “Now I have to think how I can add a white color to make a sheep look fluffy, furry and not a plain, boring white.” Don’t kids challenge us in all aspects of life, I thought to myself. I added white and pearly white colors on the top of grey dots. I was happy with the result and agreed that the sheep looks much better. Victoria was thrilled to see the transformation (make over) of her beloved Fluffy. She cried, “I LOVE it! I LOVE it! I LOVE it! Thank you, mommy for making Fluffy so beautifully.” On her birthday, Victoria asked me to take her to the portrait studio to make formal portraits of her, Fluffy and her closest friends. I did, and it is now official that Fluffy is part of our family.

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