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www.creativeartistmagazine.com
As we continued, Phil pointed to a large
shelf filled with various props and artifacts.
Phil said that this was Alice’s muse for many
of her paintings. The whole experience had
a surreal feeling to it. It was as if I could feel
Alice’s spirit as we walked around the room
she used as her home studio. Then the pace
slowed as there was a beautiful silence in
the room as I stared at the area around
her unfinished last piece. As I took time to
notice all the little details of various things
that surrounded the area. Phil noticed me
staring at the book by David Leel laying
on the table to the right side of the canvas
and said that there was a lot of David’s
influences in the things that Alice painted.
I could tell that this was diicult for Phil
and at the same time it seemed to be very
therapeutic and I asked him if I could take
a picture of the area. With his permission I
took the pictures that you see here in the
magazine.
Now that I had my camera in my hand,
Phil once again took me to the shelf and
oered some of the details to the props
and artifacts by adding that they were
things that she acquired all over the world
on her many travels. Phil pointed to them
sharing where each one was from by telling
me the decanters were from Egypt, pots
from France, and that some of the other
artifacts where from China and Japan as
he pointed to the Terra cotta warriors and
the Tang horses. Phil said the Tang horses
were especially favorites of Alice’s and that
I could see them in her paintings displayed
throughout their home.
As we continued our interview, I noticed Phil
sadness turn to pride as he boasted about
his wife’s beautiful paintings. It seemed
showing o Alice’s painting was therapeutic
for Phil, as he would shift us down memory
lane sharing all the interesting facts about
her paintings. Phil pointed to a painting an
told me that it was a place that they would
visit at Crystal Cove. Phil told me that this
picture was special because the whole
place is being renovated and her picture
captured a moment in time. Adding this
is unique because he still runs there along
that beach and sees the house now fully
renovated brings back memories of his and
Alice’s jogs along that beach. Phil was calm
and yet filled with emotions as he pulled
out another painting and gave me more
wonderful stories. Each painting had a story
as Phil filled me in on the various details
behind many of Alice’s paintings. Then
as if to prepare me for our journey, Phil,
said Alice’s painting were oil-based paint
and that she did landscapes and portraits
of things and pictures that she saw and
sometimes adding her own touch to them
by changing colors or entire backgrounds.
While at other times she simply painted
from her own imagination. This was a
unique experience for me as it wasn’t just
seeing the paintings but also understanding
the reason for the paintings that gave me a
greater understanding of the cause and the
eect of them.
Above: Book by David Leel laying
next to Alice’s work area and the shelf
containing several of Alice’s artifacts that
she used to draw inspiration from.
