Marie McCann-Barab
mcbarab.com
My images are narrative. Each represents a moment in the continuum of a story. In illustrations, this is obvious. In the paintings, the story may be below the surface. For example in Lulu Waits, the subject is the bond between myself and my pet, Lulu. Every morning Lulu would lean forward from her perch, waiting to be acknowledged with a kiss. In Before the Fall the image is of Adam and Eve, but the painting is really about making a choice before taking action. When we experience that effect of our actions there is no one to blame but ourselves. Attachments, painted in two parts, references the Renaissance tradition of double wedding portraits. The title refers to the emotional attachment between the main figures, their attachments to other creatures and the location, the Hudson River Valley. The paintings are meant to be viewed together, but by being physically “detached” from each other.
Paintings are executed in either oil or egg tempera. Egg tempera is the medium of the Early Renaissance painters and demands patience in it’s application. It must be applied to a rigid board prepared with many coats of true gesso (marble dust and glue). Every day a fresh palette of paint is prepared by combining pure pigments with egg yolk. The tempera can’t be applied thickly or it cracks and flakes off the surface. Layers and layers of glaze are applied in tiny brushstrokes until they overlap to create an illusion of form. I think of it as stroking the subject into existence. The advantages of the medium are that it lends itself to the rendering of detail, is non-toxic, creates luminous color and stands up to the test of time.
The illustrations for children are rendered in watercolor, pencil and scratchboard—other mediums that lend themselves to detail. Nothing delights me more than to anthropomorphize an animal and put the character into situations that are commonplace for humans.
