My Dad,
Lee Boynton, was my biggest inspiration in art.
I grew up posing for him as his model, then started studying with him
throughout my childhood and into my adult life. I painted in oil mainly; Dad
painted in both watercolor and oil. Following the theories of color and light
first developed by Claude Monet, the father of Impressionism, my Dad used a
palette of colors based on the natural spectrum of light. He preferred to paint
“en plain air” (French for outdoors) and directly from life. Painting outdoors,
directly from life, forces you to observe, as if in a meditative state, the
very brilliance of a passing moment. It was wonderful to be able to share that
passion with my father; to get excited and talk about art together; to go on
painting excursions together; and to witness his passion for teaching his
students.
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| Owl Pine |
In July
2014, I spread my wings and drove across country by myself. Before I left my Mom
said “pay special attention when you see a butterfly because that is a sign
that God is there.” I didn’t have any plan and there were many times I doubted
myself and felt lost, but everything always worked out for the best. Whenever I
felt afraid I would see a butterfly and felt comforted. I painted little
landscape paintings along the way. I found art-related jobs on Craigslist
before reaching the cities on my route. When I finally got to Oakland,
California, I stayed with a childhood friend from Annapolis. I painted a
picture of a pretty blue house with sunflowers around it and met the woman who
lived there. This opened the door for me to live there for 8 months with her
and her two children. I got a job at a local deli and struggled to make ends
meet in the Bay Area.
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| Butterflies |
On New
Years Eve 2014, my father was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Some months
later, I returned to Annapolis to help him.
All
through the winter last year Dad and I painted together, just the two of us in
his studio. One of the paintings that I really liked that we did together was
of a rose. He had found a rose blooming in December and we painted it together.
It is interesting to look back at both of our paintings side by side and
remember that fragile pinkness of the rose’s blossom. I remember Dad’s suggestions
when I see this painting.
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| Lee Boynton - Rose |
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| Margie Boynton - December Rose |
As my
Dad’s sickness progressed, I found more and more pure joy in focusing on my
art. I started making paper butterflies by cutting heavy card stock with an Exacto
blade, then gluing brilliant Asian papers behind the cut out wing shapes. When
you hold them up to the light they look like stained glass. I made these paper
butterflies to hang in the sunny window at the foot of Dad’s bed to comfort him
- and to remind him that God was there. On April 24, 2016, my father spread his
wings and went home to the Lord.
This
year, in celebration of my 30th birthday, I have decided to commit to being a
full-time artist. To give to myself what I love and to allow my art making to
be an expression of my faith and my father’s influence on my heart. I continue
to paint still life paintings and I continue to make paper butterflies. My
future goal is to use these butterflies to collaborate with a scientist to help
spread the importance of habitat restoration with the public.
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| Cake and Cherries |
Many
folks say “its tough to be an artist, you have to do something else to support
yourself” but I know that isn’t necessarily true. It depends on you, how much
you’re willing to pursue your vision. My Dad approached it just like anyone
else would approach another career. He went to his studio, or painted outdoors,
from 9 - 5 every day as his work. He created huge lovely paintings of watermen,
ocean waves, and paintings of historic sites.
Growing
up with my Dad I saw that the greatest thing about being an artist is that you
can promote yourself and you can set your own boundaries. If you can imagine
something as possible, it is.
Unlike
my father, I like to use many different materials and forms of art. I think it
is important to keep your definition of yourself as an artist and what you “do”
open to experimentation. Its interesting how you can use one material and
encounter some difficulties in executing an idea, whereas a different material
may be more suitable and easier to conceive of visually.
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| Cheesecake and Cherries |
Starting
out as an oil painter doing landscapes with my Dad lasted throughout my
childhood. I found it the most challenging to capture the affects of light in
the distance, as the rolling hills of the landscape become partially obscured
by the atmosphere. It wasn’t until more recently when I started using cut paper
collage that I could understand the layers of paper much like the layers of distance
in a landscape.
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| Owl Moon |
This is
Week 43 of 52 Artists in 52 Weeks. Thank you for reading and sharing Margie’s
story today!
