Catherine Kauffman
Heathsville, VA
I focus on representational oil painting that often involves people being themselves and presenting them in a way that triggers memories for the viewer.
MessageThis is one of the few reference photos that was completely unplanned and was simply serendipitous. My husband and I had come to Colonial Williamsburg for our annual winter holiday tour with the idea of gathering ideas for holiday decorations. I happened to look up the street and saw this pair chatting and quickly snapped one photo. This painting is different from my other Colonial Williamsburg works as it is the only one (so far) to include a modern era person. But the interpreter, I knew, acted as a veteran of the Revolutionary War. How significant it seemed to me that he and a wounded modern day veteran should have a deep conversation on the streets here. As I worked on this piece there were certain things, symbols, that became important for me to include: the flags are self evident, but cobblestone pathway in front and the staircase to the right in the painting represents the many barriers our wounded veterans face. The people in the background seem oblivious to the needs and sacrifices the veterans have made. Finally, the blurriness of the background, like fog, is our future as a country in these frightening times when our very Constitution is being challenged.
- Subject Matter: Figurative
- Inventory Number: 193
- Collections: Colonial Williamsburg