July 27, 2025
I posted the above image a while ago and asked you to guess what would be the subject of the painting. And now it is time for the big reveal… What was hidden behind this apparent abstract painting, was not abstract at all. This is a detail of a person. And a person that, for a long time, was an undecided entity. Here is the backstory.
Once upon a time
Once upon a time in 2022, my trusted framer from Quality Custom Framing, Sharon Majeau, in Mississauga, Ontario, had an old 3-part barn window on display in her store. There was a nice poster in it, and it worked well with this special frame. She had secured it during a barn auction in the Barrie (Ontario) area and was not sure she wanted to part with it. Long story short: I was able to take it home and this started a long few years of contemplating what I would do with it. This is the frame:
Searching…
My mind started in my comfort zone: a portrait. Since this was at the end of Covid, I thought of the sorrowful images of elderly people not being allowed ‘live visitors’. I searched the internet for appropriate references, but strangely enough, the same faces kept turning up. The market of elderly models must be very limited and the same senior faces kept popping up. Initially I wanted to do a sad face, looking out from behind the geraniums in the window sill. Then I thought about bringing in a 3D effect in the shape of the silhouette of a visitor, with their hand on the window, seeking contact. But I dismissed it in the end: it was all too elaborate and contrived. And above all: quite sad. So I decided to put the frame to the side and pray for a better subject.
Found it!
Fast forward almost 3 years and boom! the reference presented itself. It was a short flash on television during commercials and it gave me the perfect idea: a woman who is caught in a room and cries out for help from behind the window! So off I went to depict this image, just not so much with with drama, but with some humour. She does not have a name, in my picture. So let’s go for the thing I think she may be shouting: “HELP!”
I only had it framed earlier this week, so this is brand new. You will be able to see it in person during the Elgin County Studio Tour on 27 and/or 28 September, later this year in St. Thomas. This is a double-wired heavy piece, because this frame still has its original windos in it. If you are interested in buying it, do make sure to hang it from proper, strong hardware on your wall. Below are pictures of the work, before it went into the frame and a picture of the final result. I had fun creating this and I was happy to let my original framer in the GTA do the framing. She was my default go-to for years and whenever I have a more complex project, it is worth making the drive to have her do it. Thank you, Sharon!!
Not the first barn-window painting
I actually used another barn window as a frame for one of my paintings in the past. I once was inspired to paint the inside of a barn, with a collection of colourful old furniture and framing it in a window that came from a barn seemed like a no-brainer!
