When I studied fine arts at Cornell University, an outstanding painting professor named
Patrick Webb taught us many invaluable lessons on the derivation and arrangement of colors. Today, in my painting technique, I continue to employ those concepts that Professor Webb taught me. He encouraged us to speedily mix our paint on the pallet, to make instinctive decisions. We learned to create appropriate hues with innate efficiency. For many weeks, Professor Webb disallowed the use of brushes to avoid our becoming distracted from the purpose of the lesson. When applying our paint to our primed paper, he permitted us to only use the same pallet knife with which we had mixed the paint. He admonished us to keep our colors clean. If our canvas was not completely covered within an allotted amount of short time, Professor Webb would passionately scrape our canvases bare and we'd have to begin again. I incorporated that wonderful lesson in the painting of this self-portrait. My husband remarks that my usually joyful eyes look sad in this portrait. When I painted it, i thought of a comment which my dear journalist friend
Deborah Gregory once made to me. She said, "suffering is the touchstone of creativity.
