Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Th Dear John Letter

The Dear John Letter
37cm x 37cm
Coloured pencils and PanPastels on wood
Mostly I do like to do happy and quirky images, especially celebrating our animal world, but sometimes we are inspired by other thoughts and emotions. These days this image is probably an obsolete one and is more likely to be replaced with a text on an iphone, but the sentiments are still the same, and all too sad for the one on the receiving end. Hopefully what is conveyed in this image, that as harsh as it might seem, the writer is really struggling with her job at hand. My melancholy in drawing this image has been fuelled by the 24 hour coverage of yesterday's earthquake in Christchurch NZ, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this devastating event!!!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Very moving piece Karen

Unknown said...

Thank you Sam - I wasn't so happy with it once it was finished, but I guess that happens sometimes - you have to take the good with the bad!!! :)

Autumn Leaves said...

This is beautiful and so touching, Karen. My heart goes out to this sailor, truly. At least this doesn't come easy for the sender either. Reminds me of WWII era and the spirit of the times...

Unknown said...

Agree with Sam. A very moving piece.
and beautifully done.
The earthquake in NZ is so tragic. We are only in February and so much tragedy already. My heart goes out to the people in NewZealand.

Sue Clinker said...

Beautifully detailed Karen ... lets hope 'John' has a girl in every port and will soon bounce back !

We have a friend living in Christchurch (actually she was bridesmaid at David's first marriage).Thankfully she and her family came through both quakes unharmed but obviously she is very upset (and frightened) by what has happened to her friends and community. I can't begin to imagine how awful it must be.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Sherry, Dors and Sue. Sue - I'm so glad your friend is OK - I just can't imagine the constant fear they must be under which will be exaggerated now. You would never feel 100% safe - so sad for such a beautiful place. Frustrating too to watch the painfully slow progress with trying to rescue people!!! What an unbelievable year so far Dors - Mother Nature is certainly letting us know who's the boss!!!

Wendy Mould AFCA said...

Your picture is great but I am sure your attitude towards it is coloured by the memories it evokes.
What is happening in such a beautiful city like Christchurch is just awful. We were in New Zealand a few years ago and Christchurch was one of my favourite places. It is terrible to think what those people are going through right now.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Wendy - although these aren't really my memories. I have been fortunate enough to have been married for 21 years to a wonderful man, and we started dating when we were 17, so happily I never had to send anyone a Dear John letter. I hope I'd be more brave and let them know in person, but I guess it would be hard if they were in the armed forces.

It is so hard to watch the developments in Christchurch, especially for the families of those trapped, where they have been given hope, then had it shattered so many times!

Barbara A. Freeman said...

I think it beautiful, Karen. I love the way you have chosen the stationery with such a lovely pattern on it. But you have conveyed the emotion here for sure. I can't imagine a text message having the same sensitivity!

Unknown said...

Thank you Barbara - initially I was going to go with plain stationary, but then decided that might look a bit boring and decided to go for the more elaborate look, which was actually quite fun and relaxing to do :)