Pitches made for painting

Dark Lilies... The Winning Pitch

Curtains are pulled, fires are lit, the children trick or treat and as the pumpkin droops and the leaves leave a hand delivered parcel is dropped through our letter box. Unaware of its arrival, it lies inside the front door when I leave to pick up my daughter from school. I place it on the kitchen table to be opened on our return.

We arrive home and go through the process of removing hats and scarves, coats and bags. Indecisive about her snacks we go through the possible choices, the more choice the greater the quandary. Finally sitting at the table we open the brown envelope and she spills out the contents.

Calendars for the New Year that I ordered had arrived remarkably quickly. With one each, we move through the months. I explain to her where the places are. For her surprisingly short life, all of five years, she has a connection to many. Blackditch, Sea Road, Greystones Harbour are all familiar to her. Her Granny comes from Waterford. She recalls her recent holiday to Galway and still remembers our walks around Wexford, the last holiday she needed a stroller. I recall our honeymoon in the south of France; perhaps we could seek out the sun there this summer.

We are drawn to the colour and just as the artist promises the paintings are all bold, vibrant and energetic, words that I would use to describe the colourful character that is my daughter. As we close the calendars the afternoon is ending, the dark is closing in. She returns them to the envelope to await the New Year and discovers a card. I read on one side she looks at the picture on the other. It is a note of thanks for the order on a print of Dark Lilies.

Immediately we are smitten by this painting, we agree it is our favourite. The darkness of the water intensifies the colour of the lilies. They are vivid green and white with touches of yellow and red. To read this without seeing the picture, it may seem a contradiction to say we are drawn to colour, yet choose Dark Lilies as our favourite but it is. The darkness is the perfect foil for the colour, the ultimate contrast. The painting highlights the benefit of darkness, without it the stars wouldn’t be seen, without it we wouldn’t seek the sun, without it the lilies wouldn’t be as prominent.

So, Mary, for us Dark Lilies is our favourite of your paintings although we will get great pleasure from all the paintings you have chosen for your calendar this year.

My five year old pronounced that whoever painted Dark Lilies should get a trophy and to this end she put pen to paper and drew you one. We are quite delighted to have your calendar hang so you can imagine the pleasure we would get from an original painting.

We enjoy the connection of knowing the artist and knowing many of the landscapes in your paintings. For us it gives your paintings a dimension that isn’t present when you look at the works of artists and places that are unfamiliar. If we were to win we would have no hesitation in pushing a print aside for your painting would have the distinction of being the first original to hang in our house.