After last year’s Skagit Tulip Festival I fell in love with the color PINK. All the new flower concepts I was eager to paint seemed to be primarily pink, as if I was a little girl again. But I wanted to make them BIG and bursting. Pink isn’t just for little girls! These bold NEW WORKS are introduced and highlighted in my upcoming April show of 10 pieces at the Scott Milo Gallery in Anacortes, Washington.
I was not alone in my resonance with the color which was validated at the feminine post election protests in January as a worldwide sea of women in pink pussy hats and supportive men took to the streets expressing the Power of Pink in our eagerness to stand up to the new administration. In titling this body of work, “Persistence of Pink” as a feminist expression, we are reminded of Senator McConnell’s feeble attempt to chastise Senator Warren, said most succinctly:
“She was warned …nevertheless she persisted”
My partner and poet Gary Wood expresses the relevance of these new powerfully pink paintings beautifully and lovingly:
“Inspired by recent examples of the continuing courageous struggle against gender, racial & cultural inequity and suppression of expression, Seattle artist Sandy Haight exhibits a breath-takingly powerful collection of her most recent works, “Persistence of Pink,” as a befitting answer to the squabbling debasement of the droning nightly news….”
“Ms Haight’s extraordinary eye and sensibilities render the outrageous delicacy of being swept into the floral universe close-up & personal, where modesty’s treasures are laid bare with great reverence, respect and power. Her immersion into the fantastical universe of flowers is not just essentially erotic & gloriously feminine, it is abstract and realistic in the same wondrous, breathless bath of colors that nature herself concocted in the very garden of life vividly procreating itself…”
He continues: “In this particular collection of Ms Haight’s latest works, creation’s magnificent beauty is aptly & generously illustrated in nature’s budding florals and in so doing, stands triumphantly in contradistinction to current human noise, strife and cultural antagonism. In this work, beauty transcends and elevates our conversation, our interaction, our connection. In it, we are drawn to the commonality of our human being-ness through eyes that look for, and find, beauty in life. We see how as we look for it, we find it. And see further, as we cultivate it, it grows.”
He continues: “This very special exhibit is designed to be small and personal, an intimate encounter with nature’s spectacular and diverse beauty that is all around us. Timely, it is most evident in Nature’s enduring blossoming of flowers everywhere each springtime. Moreover, the Persistence of Pink (and in all colors) merely represents the creative fertility and potential everywhere year-round throughout the world in which Life abounds.”
Wow! Thanks Gary!
The show at Scott Milo Gallery features the current Skagit Valley Tulip Festival poster artist Trish Harding, and 3 former poster artists, myself – Watercolor, Randy Dana – Color Photography, and Brett Varney – Pastels or Oils. A wine festival and quilt walk will also be happening the night of the reception on Friday evening April 7, and the fields of Skagit should be persistently blooming with tulips…of all colors!
Show runs April 7 – May 2, 2017 – Scott Milo Gallery
420 Commercial Ave, Anacortes, Washington 98221 Phone 360-293-6938
I don’t know how to contact you…I left you a FB message. It is about being the May NWWS member group artist of the month banner image. It may be in message requests there..but need to have an answer before the 29th of APril…my email and directions are in the message…I hope you can be our June artist…..
contact me at sandy@sandyhaightfineart.com. Thanks. I was away most of May and mostly out of reach.
Thanks Sandy for sending the exhibition announcement, image of the grand, pink peony, and the notice for SHS gathering in July. I love the painting. Always amazing to see what you do with those colors.
Too soon to tell if I can make it out to Seattle on that date. I’ll be there if it is at all possible. About two weeks ago Rob Laird contacted me about gathering here in the fall — said it was “more centrally located.” Had to laugh, and accepted his offer. Since that message there was apparently some local discussion with Sue Brown and others about a Yellowstone/Bozeman rendezvous in September. Haven’t heard a thing since. I’ll keep you posted if anything comes of it.
Good luck at the Everett exhibition. Sounds like a lot of fun, and a perfect place for your work.
lots of love,
steve k