“Salt of the Earth”

For months I have been working on a collection of portraits of people from my childhood in a small, Welsh village during 1950’s to ’60’s. For many years I have wished I could step back in time and thank them for their kindness that came in the form of listening. They listened to me, a child, in a time when ” children should be seen and not heard.” In the phone based culture of today when conversation is rare, I realize how fortunate I was.

There seemed nothing I could do to thank most of them, but I could thank their families. I could paint portraits of their relatives who were still emerging from the hardships of WWII yet still had time for a child.

Soon, I will carry 30 oil paintings from South Carolina to North Wales. The Carriage Works Gallery in Denbigh has generously offered to exhibit them over a long weekend, after which they will go to the families of my dear friends. It has been an Homage to Kindness.