"The Famiily Tree" Mixed Media 24 x 36 inches Char Baxter 2024
When my Dad passed away 20 years ago, I found boxes in his attic of old family pictures and letters written in beautiful, nearly illegible script. I put it all away until this past year when I cleared out a dusty corner of my attic. Reading the old letters and deciphering the stories that they held was mesmerizing. I began to link events with photographs and understand some of the bits of family lore I learned at the dinner table back in the '60s – a point in time when I really didn't care about ancient history because I was much more interested in making my own.
"The Family Tree" is a work of art that I created to explore and exorcise some of the strong emotions in those letters and stories. With a well-documented family tree that goes back to the late 1700s, there is quite a lot to unpack. Somehow, in the process of making this piece, I felt some of the weight of time lift and soften with newfound understanding.
"Capturing my grandfather as a young boy tentatively standing at the foot of a huge tree underscores his innocence and trust in what his future will hold."
The Process
Planning
The original plan was to stitch old parchment paper to watercolor paper and then stitch that to the canvas - three layers. I wanted to visually tell the story of the awesome weight of a heavy family legacy.
Auditioning elements
I began to play with the elements to tell the story - photographs, letters, lace and keys. Ultimately, I used only a letter and one photograph, choosing to focus on an image of my grandfather when he was just a boy.
Forming the tree
I sketched in the tree with watercolor pencils and ink, leaving areas open for the torn watercolor paper pieces to form the trunk and branches.
Stitching the watercolor paper and painting the background
To give the impression of the weight of history, I painted the canvas backgound with a dark Indigo acrylic. I stitched outward to the edges of the canvas with artificial sinew, forming the branches and drawing the eye upward.