Portrait

The best-told story of the human face is a journey through the years lived by that person.  The life experiences each individual has accrued are woven together, creating a fabric unique only to that person.  Mareth’s approach to capturing that visage starts with a black and white photograph.  While reducing the image to a face without color, she is better able to “read” the story and translate that onto 300# watercolor paper.  As the line around each feature is drawn, a new story begins.  The intimacy and responsibility of drawing, followed by painting this distinctive face, is palpable.  A relationship commences and becomes inspirational fodder until the piece is slowly and deliberately brought to completion.  Reference imagery is often from vintage photographs or from the collection of Mareth’s own photography.