I hear you, the doomscrolling cycle is real! This is how I force my eyes and hands to take a break from it all.
Thank you!

Thank you Sarah! ✨

The third panel shows the close-up detail of Robert's 94 year old hands, resting. He dedicated his post-war life to teaching art, and his worn hands spoke symbolically to me about his skill and his impact on others as an educator. 9/9

The second panel is a flat, sky blue painted surface into which a technical diagram of a Spitfire bomber is woodburned. Robert had a toy model of this plane in his studio, and his eyes lit up when he talked about flying them. 8/9

About this portrait:

The first panel is a view of Robert's face. He had shown me his handsome WW2 wartime photos (!!) and wondered why I would care to paint him as an old man? I tried to capture his intense gaze, the same look he had as a dashing young soldier photographed by Karsh. 7/9

"Robert Hyndman, 94" by Sarah Hatton
Oil, resin, wood burning on panel, 2009
45.7 x 137cm (18” x 54”)

#art #artshare #canadianart #artists #CanadaRemembers #ottawa #warartists #CanadianForces #CanadianHistory #CanadaSky 🇨🇦 6/9

When we talked about painting, there was no trace of the 60 years that separated us. I am very grateful for Robert’s service, both to our country, and to generations of painters in #Ottawa. 5/9

Robert wrote back, and over the next four years we exchanged letters, painting tips and critique, and went out to local art shows together. He allowed me to paint his portrait at the age of 94, while I listened to his war stories. It would be the last portrait of him before his death in 2009. 4/9

It meant so much to me that a 90-year-old artist had made such an effort to reach out to encourage a fellow artist six decades his junior, so I decided to respond to his gesture in a way that he would certainly appreciate: with a handwritten letter of gratitude. 3/9

Robert reasoned that when you connect with an artists’ work, you absolutely have to let them know it, and that my paintings were unlike anything he had ever seen. He had read that I was a fellow Chelsea resident, so he had simply looked me up in our local phone book and cold called me! 2/9

🐾

You can see the entire series at www.sarahhattonartist.com/detachment.