Embedded Files
All of us who were alive in 2001 on September 11th ... will never forget this day.
Blue Sky Mourning
20 x 16, watercolor on paper, in collection of the artistAround nine o’clock on September 11th I was standing before the TV, paralyzed by fear and disbelief, tears streaming down my face. With my painting table nearby, through my grief I finally noticed, amid all the horror, that beautiful September blue sky I loved so well. I cried out to myself, ‘I know that color! I can paint that sky! Thus “Blue Sky Mourning” was birthed.
Terrorist Strike At Liberty
20 x 16, watercolor on paper, in the collection of the artistOnce started I could not stop. I turned to a view of the twin towers bursting into flame. Using the prerogative of the artist, I moved the Statue of Liberty upriver, placing it in the river behind the towers. Grieving my way through the day, I made this second painting, “Terrorist Strike at Liberty.”
The Lonely Sentinel
20 x 16, watercolor on paper, in collection of the artistAs the sun set on September 11th, I saw in the TV images the burnt orange sky rising above Manhattan. I made a quick sketch, focusing on the Empire State building standing all alone in a sky filled with smoke and ash. Day two, September 12th, began with my painting this image, “The Lonely Sentinel.”
A Portrait of Grief
15 x 15. watercolor on paper, in collection of the artistAmong some of the most moving images I witnessed on the television were those of the firefighters, the police, the security people, the ambulance drivers. Called forward, with an uncommon strength in the midst of unbidden grief, their faces are with me still. This painting, “Portrait of Grief,” honors the courage and commitment of all of them.
The Shape of War
18 x 14, watercolor on paper, in collection of the artist.On the third day I painted this horrible painting, “The Shape of War.” The image is the Pentagon (and the airplane wings) exploding in the midst of what had been a tranquil fall day in Washington D.C. War, all war, is horrific and artists sometimes are called to help us see horrific things that we as humans are capable of doing. Again, using artistic license, I placed the dome of the Capitol building with the flag flying in the background.
The Burial Ground
20 x 16, watercolor on paper, in the collection of the artistMore and more as TV images focused on ‘ground zero,’ the place where the grand towers had once stood, and the tangled mass of steel stretched toward the sky. And as the number and names of those who had lost their lives began to be rehearsed, I knew, this was now “The Burial Ground,” which became my second painting of day three.
They Gave Everything
20 x 16, watercolor on paper, in collection of the artistI made this painting on the 4th day. It is my farewell to those brave men and women who rushed to, and into, the burning towers. They saved many and many of them perished. Painting can be healing for me. I believe the way through pain is to put on your shoes–or pick up your brush–and slog on through it. In the week of 9/11 painting helped; it kept me grounded. Art can heal if we let it.Report abuse